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 produce of the hunt, they were easily housed and clothed. Possessing within themselves every want, and trained from their infancy to the use of arms and horses, they were most formidable opponents; the immense hordes with which they advanced generally enabling them to carry all before them.

Previous to the tenth century all the nations, or rather tribes, east of Germany were heterogeneously classed as Scythians. Being almost entirely nomadic, they as a rule disdained commerce, and held peaceful arts, the certain signs of civilization, in contempt. Those of them who were accustomed to the sea made piracy their chief occupation, and gloried in their marauding expeditions. Of these the Scandinavians were among the most daring. Impatient of a bleak climate, and narrow limits, they were ever ready to make the most distant and hazardous voyages, exploring every coast that promised either spoil or settlement. Though the Baltic was the first scene of their naval achievements, they extended their operations far beyond those seas, and were frequently found in the Euxine, where, with others of the northern tribes, they committed considerable havoc, and, from their superiority in arms and discipline, were greatly feared. About the tenth century there, however, arose among these barbarous hordes of the north the Slavonians, a tribe then occupying Lithuania, but soon better known as the Muscovites, who directed their attention to commercial pursuits. Occupying the chief ports of the Baltic, these people traded in leather, wool, flax, hemp, lead, and amber, receiving in exchange wine, manufactured iron, with dry goods, and a limited supply