Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 16.djvu/299

 the water, which oftentimes come to the land, and liuing altogether on land become very strong poison. The people beyond the citie of Cairo vse to fish for them and eate them, and they take their heads, and set them vpon the walles of their citie.

Of these Crocodiles it is written, that they lay themselues along by the riuer with their mouthes open, and that there come vnto them certaine white birds, little bigger then thrusshes, which flie into the mouth of the Crocodile, and picke out the filthines which is betweene his teeth, and in his iawes, wherewith he is greatly pleased; but for all that the Crocodile would close his mouth and deuoure the bird, if nature had not prouided the bird a sharpe pricke as it were, growing out of his head, wherewith he pricketh the Crocodile in the mouth; which causeth him to gape wide, and so the bird flieth away without harme; yet there come by and by other of those birds, which make an end of cleansing his mouth.

In the same riuer there are also many beasts, like vnto horses; and vpon the land certaine fowels like vnto cranes, which warre continually with serpents, that come thither from Arabia, and kill many of them. Which birds as also the vermine, which eate the egges of the Crocodiles, are greatly esteemed of the Egyptians.

But now to returne to my matter, and to proceede in the discoueries; In the yeere 485. before the incarnation of Christ Xerxes the king of Persia commanded Sataspis his nephew to goe and search, and discouer India: who according to the precept vndertooke the voyage, and went through the straight of Gibralter, and passed the promontorie of Africa, which now we call the Cape of Bona Sperança, standing southward betwixt 34. and 35. degrees in latitude, and being weary of so great a nauigation turned from thence backe againe, as Bartholomew Dias did in our daies.

Before the comming of Christ 443. yeeres Himilco and Hanno his brother Carthaginian captaines gouerning that part of Spaine, which is now called Andaluzia, departed from thence each one with his nauie. Himilco sailing towards the north discouered the coasts of Spaine, France, England, Flanders and Germanie. And some write farther, that he sailed vnto Gotland, and came