in the vicinity of Kief, which mountain for many generations was
called the Tomb of Oleg.

Igor now assumed the reins of government. He had lived in Kief a
quiet, almost an effeminate life, with his beautiful bride Olga. A
very powerful tribe, the Drevolians, which had been rather restive,
even under the rigorous sway of Oleg, thought this a favorable
opportunity to regain their independence. They raised the standard of
revolt. Igor crushed the insurrection with energy which astonished all
who knew him, and which spread his fame far and wide through all the
wilds of Russia, as a monarch thoroughly capable of maintaining his
command.

Far away in unknown realms, beyond the eastern boundary of Russia,
where the gloomy waves of the Irtish, the Tobol, the Oural and the
Volga flow through vast deserts, washing the base of fir-clad
mountains, and murmuring through wildernesses, the native domain of
wolves and bears, there were wandering innumerable tribes, fierce,
cruel and barbarous, who held the frontiers of Russia in continual
terror. They were called by the general name of Petchénègues. Igor was
compelled to be constantly on the alert to defend his vast frontier
from the irruptions of these merciless savages. This incessant warfare
led to the organization of a very efficient military power, but there
was no glory to be acquired in merely driving back to their dens these
wild assailants. Weary of the conflict, he at last consented to
purchase a peace with them; and then, seeking the military renown
which Oleg had so signally acquired, he resolved to imitate his
example and make a descent upon Constantinople. The annals of those
days, which seem to be credible, state that he floated down the
Dnieper with ten thousand barges, and spread his sails upon the waves