The Southern herald., 1912-11-15


this dav Il is not known by what name It was
called
II the feat Of Millward in his two years OF
fighting the untrodden jungles and wastes OF
Peten had yielded nothing more than the knowl-
edge Of these old stone cities 1t would nave been
OF priceless value according to archaeologists,
in making possible a study Of Maya history and
culture So far they are almost as much mys-
terry as they were two hundred years ago. The
elaborate carvings and petroglyphs which mark
the buried temples and palaces are undecipher-
able, and what little history Of the movements
of the Mayas and their ancestors, their life and
art, has survived has been only in the form OF
legends kept alive by obscure Maya tribes.
Mr.. Mlllward's explorations have established
the fact that the confines of the Maya empire ex'
tended far south of the belt of towns and cities
whose ruins dot the northern coast toward the
Bay Of Campeche.
In the course of his explorations Mlward
came upon more than three hundred groups OF
ruins. which mark the site Of what were once
villages and towns Of from 1900 to $4,000 popula,
tion each. The latter have all the characteris
tics of great centers of highly developed life.
AS in the famous Palenque, many of the ruins in
this hitherto undiscovered land which Millward
penetrated are notable in their dimensions deco
rations and suggestions of the high degree Of
civilization which created them. But as ever
owing to the superstition OF the Mayas in his
party, he was unable to give them more than
scant attention.
For four months MIlward and his men toiled
through forests whose richness he declares s not
even suspected by people familiar with adjoining
countries Immense mahogany trees of size
and quality unapproached by anything known to
commerce grew on every side. Rosewood ebony.
cedar logwood, chicle, cacao and rubber trees
of dimensions unknown to the famous district Of
Quintana Roo, extended far northward into the
districts which he afterward explored. Orchids
OF the most delicate hue, a half dozen Of whose
bulbs would make small fortune for a Fifth
avenue florist tralled from the trees and dangled
the path SO as to be nuisance.
Four months and a half from the time they
left Belize, Millward and his men came out Of the
jungle at Laguna Carmen, near the Bay Of Cam
peche, in the Gulf Of Mexico. There they put in
month Of good rest. Several Of the men had
died from fever and exposure, and percentage
q the mules had been lost. The trip however
was marked success. Preparations were at
once made for the return trip to Belize and for
this Millward mapped out route which woud
take him across about sixty miles further to the
north
II was when month and half inland ON th,a
second trip that there occurred one Of the nost
important Incidents Of the enterprise This was
sAS NioNOscAy Vi louT large ana nltnertO unknown
lakes Here, again, Millward found that their
existence, i not their location, was ALREADY
known to his Mayas under the name Of aThs
Four Sisters"
Maya villages continued to dot the iunglea aa
the party progressed eastward, and in ali -
them the explorer was well received As MN.
ward worked further on in the general direction
q Belize his destination, and began to approach
tne other coast he came upon occasional settle
ments Of Carbs. In physique and strength he
considers theseemen far superior to the Mavas
Tne new territory, whose resources have been
explorer is believed to be one of tha ,as. ~
uapie nnds, commercially and historicalIy. a
many decades. The untold riches Of Ita forsats
are not only accessible but Mr. Millward is likelv
70 prove to large extent its developer as woif
as its discoyerer, since he already Il n wora -
plans ior the establishment OF direct routs
Overland from the Caribbean Sea to the cuIt d
4 meA.co wncn would open up the grsaterp art j.