The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1912-11-09
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this day it is not known by what name was
called.
II the feat of Millward in his two years OF
fighting the untrodden jungles ana wastes Oh
Peten had yielded nothing more than the kno"i
edge of these old stone cities 1t would nave Deen
of priceless value. according to archaeoiosists.
IN making possible study of Maya history AND
culture. So far they are almost as much mys
terry as thew were two hundred years ago. Inc
elaborate carvings and petroglypns wnicn marx
the buried temples and palaces are undecipner
able, and what little history Of the movements
of the Mayas and their ancestors their Ire ana
art has survived has been only in the form OF
legends kept alive by obscure Maya tribes
Mr.. Millwards explorations have established
the fact that the confines of the Maya empire ex-
tended far south of the belt OF towns and clues
whose ruins dot the northern coast toward the
Bay Of Campeche.
In the course of his explorations Millward
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 popuia-
ton each The latter have all the characters
tics of great centers of highly developed nfe-.
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 MS
party, he was unable to give them more than
scant attention.
For four months Millward and his men toiled
through forests whose richness he declares is 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
Quntana Roo extended far northward into the
districts which he afterward explored. Orchids
of the most delicate hue. half dozen of whose
bulbs would make small fortune for Fifth
avenue florist trailed from the trees and dangled
the path so 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
of the mules had been lost. The trip. however.
was q marked success. Preparations were at
once made for the return trip to Belize and for
this Millward mapped out a route which would
take him across about sixty miles further to the
north.
1t was when q 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 5ungles ~
the party progressed eastward and In al Of
them the explorer was well received Az MIL
ward worked further 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
not only accessible. but Mr.. Millward IL likely
to prove to large extent its developer well
as its discoverer. since he already II at work on
plans for the establishment Of = direct route
overland from the Caribbean Sea to the Gulf Of
Mexico. which would open up the greaterp ar Of
the region to travel and commerce..