DCHP-1 Online

oolichan eulachon [< Chinook Jargon ûlakân]

• n. a small fish, Thaleicthys pacificus, of the smelt family, native to the Pacific coast.

  See also: candlefish  fathom-fish  lampfish  Skeena turkey  

  • The spelling variants recorded for this word are numerous; see 1953 quote for samples.

  • 1811  (1849)  There is a small fish resembling the smelt or herring, known by the name of ulichan, which enters the river in immense shoals, in the spring of the year.
  • 1834  (1963)  The canoes were laden with . . . dried herring spawn which they are to barter for Oolaghans.
  • 1869  We are told that the Indians, when prostrated by disease sometimes in the worst stages of debility, go up to their sanitorium at the mouth of the Naas River, where they continue to live on oolachans until they are perfectly cured.
  • 1926  They came today for the oolichan fishing.
  • 1953  Oolikan, olachan, eulachon, uthlecan, hollikan and hoolican--spell it as you wish. . . .
  • 1965  Robichaud said commercial exploitation of eulachons was banned by regulation.