A nation of
North American Indians divided into two great families, one bordering on the Eskimos in the
Northwest, and the other stretching along the
Mexican frontier from
Texas to the
Gulf of
California.
The domain of the
Northern family extends across the continent from
Hudson Bay to the
Pacific Ocean.
There are some smaller bands of the same nation, scattered along the
Pacific coast from Cook's Inlet to
Umpqua River, in Oregon.
The Northern family is divided into a large number of tribes, none of them particularly distinguished.
The population of the
Northern family is estimated at 32,000, that of the scattered bands at 25,000, and the
Southern family at 17,000.
The latter includes the Navajos and those fierce rovers, the Apaches, with which the government of the
United States has had much to do. The Southern family also includes the Lipans on the borders of
Texas.
The
Athabascans are distinguished for their heavy beards, short hands and feet, and square, massive heads.
They derive their name from
Lake Athabasca, in British North America, in lat. 59° N., and half-way between
Hudson Bay and the
Rocky Mountains.
They claim to have come from the
West, over a series of islands, and from a land covered with snow.
Some observers trace in their language and features a resemblance to the
Tartar race.
