The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1912-10-24
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this day it is not known by what name 1t was
called
If the feat of Millward in his two years OF
fighting the untrodden 'jungles and wastes oil
Peten had yielded nothing more than the knowl
edge Of these old stone cities it would nave Deen
of priceless value, according to archaeolog1sts
in making possible 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 undecpher-
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.. Millward'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 Miward
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 popua-
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 Milward
penetrated are notable in their dimensions, deco
rations and suggestions of the high degree Of
civilization which created them. But ever,
owing to the superstition of the Mayas in his
scant attention.
For four months Millward and his men toiled
through forests whose richness he declares is not
suspected by people familiar with adjoining
countries. Immense mahogany trees of a 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
WI ho aPto Uord do
of the most delicate hue a half dozen Of whose
bulbs would make small fortune for Fifth
avenue florist, trailed from the trees and dangled
the path so to be a nuisance
Four months and half from the time they
left Belize. Milward 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 a percentage
OF 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 would
take him across about sixty miles further to the
north
1t was when a month and half inland on this
second trip that there occurred one of the most
important incidents of the enterprise This was
the discovery of four large and hitherto unknown
lakes. Here, again, Millward found that their
existence, II not their location was already
known to his Mayas under the name Of "The
Four Sisters"
Maya villages continued to dot the jungles as
the party progressed eastward, and in all of
them the explorer well received. AS Mill
ward worked further on in the general direction
OF Belize, his destination, and began to approach
the other coast he came upon occasional settle
ments OF Caribs. In physique and strength he
considers these men far superior to the Mayas
The new territory, whose resources have been
revealed through the enterprise of this young
explorer, is believed to be one of the most val
liable finds, commercially and historically, of
many decades. The untold riches of its forests
are not only accessible. but Mr. Millward is likely
to prove to large extent its developer as we'll
as Its discoverer, since he already is at work on
plans for the establishment of a direct route
overland from the Caribbean Sea to the Gulf of
Mexico, which would open up the greaterp art of
the region to travel and commerce.