Athabaskan

The water-system in question forms the centre of the great Athabaskan area—the centre, but not the whole.

The Athabaskan is the first class in our list; and, if we look only at the area which its population occupies, it is a great one.

The Athabaskan languages form as clearly unified, as structurally specialized, a group as any that I know of.

In the same parts the Athabaskan forms of speech differ most from each other.

Now as these last are Athabaskan, there must have been displacement.