Chapter 6
"To Be or Not to Be:"
The Coming of the Iron Horse

Proposals to build a  railroad  in Sonora invariably transcended the traditional argument of economic benefits and incorporated issues of culture and identity.^[1] In wrestling over the coming of "the machines of progress," as many referred to it, some Sonorans grappled with their fears of being absorbed by their powerful northern neighbor. As they deliberated over a series of  railroad  projects, many expressed doubts that their past traditions would survive. They viewed the iron horse in the context of a broader asymmetrical relationship developing between Sonorans and their North American neighbors. Others, however, scoffed at these concerns, insisting that the  railroad  represented progress as well as an opportunity to enrich the state.^[2] Sonorans, one such commentator observed, were being "pushed by the forces of civilization arriving from the north," not from Mexico in the south.^[3] A decade after the  railroad  commenced service, access to transportation had changed the state in many ways. Beside linking Sonora to the United States, the  railroad  ended the autonomous existence of the nine separate districts that formed the state. As ridership increased, Sonorans from throughout the state came face-to-face with each other. Ultimately, the  railroad  embodied the promise and perils of Sonora's new border status.

The Instrument of Progress

For years, Sonorans had envisioned a  railroad  that would link their economy to that of the United States. State leaders believed that the rail-

road would provide solutions to their most complex problems-it would facilitate the movement of troops to defeat the Apaches and Yaquis, encourage expatriates to return, promote "white" immigration, increase the value of land, and above all, facilitate the exploitation of rich mineral resources.^[4] With a  railroad , Sonora would surpass Arizona, overtake California, and claim its place in the sun. By the late 1870s, a new sense of expectation gripped Sonorenses. The language of development, reflected in the use of slogans such as "a new era," "regeneration," "progress," "rebirth," and "modernization," filled the pages of Sonoran newspapers and punctuated speeches by local politicians.

Early  Railroad  Schemes

Early Sonoran  railroad  schemes envisioned a rail link not with Arizona but with California, Sonora's earliest trading partner. Mexico City favored a rail link between Guaymas and Paso del Norte, modern-day Ciudad Juárez. From 1854 to 1870, no less than five separate contracts to build a  railroad  in Sonora received approval from the state and federal government. Alejandro José Atocha acquired the first concession in July 1854 to construct a line from Guaymas to Paso del Norte.^[5] From 1859 to 1861, the Chihuahuan general Angel Trías monopolized rights to develop a line over the same route.^[6] In 1866 an American, John C. Fremont, entered into an agreement with President Benito Juárez to lay track from Guaymas to Arizona. Julius Skilton, the American consul general to Mexico with ties to the Pennsylvania  Railroad , also vied for a concession in 1869.^[7] Despite these schemes, by 1870 not one kilometer of track had been laid. Most foreign and Mexican syndicates had no capital for the project and simply speculated on the potential for mining in Sonora. An impoverished Mexican government agreed to the various concessions in the hope of deriving some benefits from economic activity in the northwest. Political instability, wars with the Yaqui population, the French intervention, and the lack of capital doomed most early  railroad  schemes.^[8]

Sonoran  railroad  projects mirrored developments in the United States. During the 1870s, economic expansion in the United States Southwest gave rise to yet another wave of  railroad  schemes in Sonora. In 1872 James Eldredge, an American representing a British concern, visited Guaymas and promoted a rail line from the Sonoran port to Arizona. The state assembly and Governor Ignacio Pesqueira supported

the plan and actively campaigned for the Eldredge proposal. Pesqueira commissioned Ismael S. Quiroga, a Sonoran assemblyman, and Alexander Willard, the American consul at the time, to promote the project in Mexico City. Quiroga lobbied for the contract in the Mexican congress and Willard sought to influence American interest, hoping to garner support for the Sonoran proposal.^[9] In a letter to the governor, a disillusioned Willard informed Pesqueira that the delegation had won few converts since there existed a near total lack of knowledge of the northern border in Mexico City.^[10] The Mexican congress took no action on the Eldredge plan.

The 1872  railroad  controversy highlights the changing relationship between Sonora and the capital. Angered by the inaction of Mexico City, state officials protested that Sonora should not have to submit rail contracts for approval to the federal government^[11] and naively argued that no difference existed "between building a road from Ures to Guaymas and building a  railroad  north."^[12] The federal government reaffirmed its authority to enter into contracts with foreign interests to build a  railroad , and without the approval of the national government, investors refused to enter into agreements with state officials. In 1875 the federal government allowed David Boyle Blair, an Englishman, to acquire rights to the stalled Eldredge contract.^[13] A last-ditch effort headed by Guillermo Andrade and backed by some California interests to build a  railroad  from Guaymas to Yuma, did not receive federal support.^[14] On the surface, Andrade's plan appeared farsighted. He contended that a rail link between Sonora and Arizona would make the Mexican state dependent on its northern neighbor. Establishing a line directly to California, he argued, where no actual physical contact existed, would provide Sonora greater commercial freedom and prevent dependence on Arizona. For economic interests in California, it also would provide direct access to Mexican markets, bypassing intermediaries in Arizona. Andrade, however, lacked the political clout and resources with which to realize his elaborate plan. Still, he could take some consolation in the fact that after a few years, the Blair agreement also stalled.

Cultural Dimensions of Developments

 Railroad  proposals and growing trade with the United States sparked a debate within Sonora and in Mexico City regarding the social repercussions of commercial dealings with the Americans. For its part, Mexico

City feared the implications of Sonora's ties to the United States, particularly the political and cultural consequences of constructing a  railroad  between an isolated and distant Sonora and its neighbor to the north. Memories of the loss of Texas remained fresh in the minds of many federal officials. President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada underscored this fear when, in reference to a  railroad  between Sonora and the United States, he said that "between a strong nation and a weak one, the best defense is a desert."^[15] The Mexican military also opposed plans for a  railroad  in Sonora. General Gaspar Sánchez Ochoa, chief of the engineer corps of the Mexican army, believed that "construction of a  railroad  in Sonora should wait until such time as the frontier states were united by railways with the valley of Mexico."^[16] Otherwise, Sánchez Ochoa argued, Chihuahua and Sonora would be lost to the United States. Sonoran congressmen, such as Antonio Moreno, vigorously opposed this argument.^[17]

In Sonora, discussion of the  railroad  also generated heated arguments. Fear of social and economic absorption by the United States framed most debates concerning the iron horse. Opponents of the  railroad  continued to make use of cultural arguments to attack foreign concessions and insisted that after construction of the  railroad , Sonora would be flooded with "low class Americans" or "cowboys" who would transform the state into another Texas.^[18] Critics warned that a  railroad  contract would result in the loss of Sonora to the United States. The state of Sonora, said one state assemblyman in 1869 resembled "a child besides a giant, a rabbit about to be devoured by a voracious boa constrictor. The United States is looking for a pretext to acquire our territory, only a pretext, because all the Yankees need are pretexts. This concession will cause innumerable complications. . . and bring about the absorption of our nation by the Americans."^[19] A lingering bitterness over past aggressions coupled with concern over diminishing economic power permeated the debate. Beyond cultural arguments, other reasons existed for opposing the  railroad . Many agricultural interests along the Sierra Madre, such as Sahuaripa, Moctezuma, and Alamos, would not benefit from the project. These groups feared that the iron horse would shift the balance of power in the state toward the areas traversed by the  railroad , in particular the Guaymas-Hermosillo-Nogales corridor.

When the Sonoran state assembly considered the Eldredge proposal in 1872, an editorial in the state's official newspaper, La Estrella de Occidente , sought to allay fears of U.S. annexation by emphasizing that the operators of the  railroad  would be British and not Americans. The news-

paper insisted that the English would serve as a buffer between Sonora and the Americans, preventing annexation by the United States. To calm fears from landowners who might be forced to cede property to the  railroad , the newspaper claimed that "even those left with a small piece of land will be millionaires."^[20] The state newspaper labeled opponents as retrograde, those who refused to let Sonora "go ahead" and instead sought to preserve the "status quo." It referred to the  railroad  as a "civilizing project" which would open Sonora to "the driving force of the American people," thereby ensuring the state's development.^[21] Terms such as "go ahead" and "status quo" appeared in English, demonstrating the degree to which this language already formed part of the region's vocabulary.

Debates over the implications of increased economic relations between Mexico and the United States grew louder and eventually attracted the attention of Sonorans living in Tucson.^[22] As negotiations progressed, the Mexican community in Tucson took sides on the  railroad  and two camps emerged.^[23] Economic interests here, too, appeared to frame the debate. Newspapers like La Sonora led opposition to the  railroad  whereas El Fronterizo became a pillar of support for the  railroad . La Sonora asserted metaphorically that "the first spike driven into the track would drive the wedge of annexation between Sonora and Mexico. ^[24] The editor of El Fronterizo, Carlos I. Velasco, who had extensive ties to the Sonoran government, insisted that "with the  railroad , Sonora will be reborn like a Phoenix out of the ashes; its inhabitants have for many years anxiously awaited this rebirth."^[25] Moreover, the newspaper insisted that "there was no reason to believe that the material progress of a nation entailed its loss of independence."^[26]

By 1878 political and economic conditions favored the construction of a  railroad . The perennial governor of Sonora, Ignacio Pesqueira, had been removed from office. Despite the turbulence which accompanied the interim government of Vicente Mariscal, political peace appeared at hand. The incessant conflicts that had engulfed the state during most of the nineteenth century had subsided. A new political bloc, tied to the Porfiriato and led by Ramón Corral, Luis E. Torres, and Rafael Izábal, formed the nucleus of a relatively strong and stable government. Moreover, two new British investors with access to financing, David Ferguson and Robert Symon, proposed to take over the stalled Blair concession.^[27] From 1851 to 1871, they, along with Sebastian Camacho, controlled mints at Alamos and Hermosillo, amassing substantial profits.^[28] During 1879 they also operated mints in Sonora and Sinaloa.

Mexican critics, such as Alberto F. Pradeau, charged that profits from these operations financed the Sonoran  railroad , not foreign capital.^[29] After a long protracted debate, the Mexican congress refused to grant Ferguson and Symon's request. The body deadlocked over the merits of building a transoceanic rail line that would unite Veracruz, Mexico City, and a port on the Pacific and over authorizing rail line from Mexico City to the northern border. Despite objections from Alfredo Chavero, president of the Mexican congress, in 1879 Porfirio Díaz arbitrarily transferred the old Blair contract to Ferguson and Symon, authorizing construction of the Sonoran  railroad ^[30]

Proponents of the  railroad  still faced resistance from those worried about economic and cultural displacement. An editorial in La Constitución, the state's new official newspaper, summarized the situation which confronted Sonorans this way:

We are in the presence of a great and powerful race, that although friendly tends to absorb us. We are called upon to wage a titanic battle, to defeat them with their own weapons or to shamefully succumb to them. Without realizing it, we have fallen into the terrible dilemma faced by Hamlet: 'To be or not to be' [original in English]. Let us demonstrate to the foreign nations that today fear for our nationality, that by Americanizing ourselves, we Mexicanize ourselves more and more, because by educating ourselves in their schools we will become stronger, respectable and will be able to better defend the integrity of our national territory.^[31]

This enigmatic assessment captured the apprehensions that had distressed Sonorans since the Pesqueira government. If the state did not achieve even a modicum of economic development, they argued, its population would continue to search for opportunity in Arizona, as it had since I856. State officials had traditionally warned that the real danger of absorption came from allowing the northern states to wallow in despair, "destroyed by the barbarians [Apache] and depopulated as its people are drawn by offers of work on the other side of the border. Therein lies the real danger of annexation."^[32] The 1869 census noted a dramatic decline of population from a previous high of 150,000 to fewer than 108,000 inhabitants. By 1876 the American consul believed that the population had fallen even further, down to fewer than 90,000, one-third of which represented the indigenous population^[33] Debilitated by wars with the Yaquis and confronting out-migration, Sonora would continue to stagnate. Sonorense political leadership argued that a weak state, lacking viable social or political institutions, would be unable to

negotiate terms of trade and would succumb to United States interests^[34] The growing flood of contraband along the northern brought this point home. "Americanization," as they saw it, implied not the unmitigated assimilation of an American way of life, but rather the appropriation of American expertise and technology. To "defeat [Americans] with their own weapons," Sonora, they argued, had to develop.

Construction of the Sonoran  Railroad 

With the contract approved and financing secured from the Atchison-Topeka, and Santa Fe  Railroad , construction of the railway from the port of Guaymas north to the United States border began in earnest in 1880. Few could have anticipated the extent to which their society would be transformed in the ensuing years. The organization of the  railroad  mirrored the newly emerging social order in Sonora. The board of directors of the company did not include any Mexicans. Although the first annual report of the Sonoran  Railroad  in 1881 listed Governor Luis E. Torres on the board, the company dropped him once formal negotiations with the government had been finalized.^[35] Sebastian Camacho, who functioned as a liaison with the Mexican government, was the only non-Anglo-American in the upper echelons of the  railroad  organization. In Sonora, American engineers Daniel B. Robinson and W. R. Morley supervised the daily construction of the enterprise. According to one source, Colonel Antonio Moreno, an engineer assigned by the Mexican government to oversee the project, had become a de facto company employee. The Monitor del Comercio, a Guaymas newspaper, alleged that in addition to a government salary he received 400 pesos a month from the company and had become foreman of a crew in charge of grading the track.^[36]

To facilitate the arrival of building materials, construction commenced at the port of Guaymas. Lumber for the project came from Oregon, while rails, cars, and locomotives arrived from the United States East Coast. To oversee construction, the company brought its own crew of American supervisors, and for the grueling manual labor, the company recruited Yaquis and Mexicans. To assure an initial supply of workers, they also retained two hundred American blacks, many of whom later married and settled in the state.^[37] If an ample supply of labor could not be secured locally, the  railroad  threatened to import Chinese workers from California.^[38] Since hundreds of Yaquis and Mexi-

cans deluged the  railroad  offices seeking work, the feared labor shortage never materialized. By 1883 the  railroad  listed 1,949 employees, including 664 Mexican, 810 Yaquis, and 475 Americans.^[39]

Racial Stratification

Employment patterns on the  railroad  represented deep-seated racial inequities which later confronted Mexicans throughout the state. A graduated wage structure developed for Mexicans, Yaquis, and Anglo-Americans performing the same work. Americans received the top pay, Mexicans the middle levels, and Yaquis the lowest. At the Guaymas yard, for example, the thirteen Mexicans classified as shop workers received a maximum wage of two pesos a day, whereas the rifty Americans under the same classification obtained four pesos a day.^[40] Beyond the typical three-tier wage arrangement, a racial occupational hierarchy also became apparent. Anglo-Americans held the majority of professional and skilled positions, monopolizing office assignments and trades such as machinists, train conductors, and carpenters. Mexicans who held office positions remained, by and large, station attendants, who were hired as cultural brokers, to translate for non-Spanish-speaking Americans station managers.^[41] American construction supervisors also employed Mexican interpreters in order to facilitate communication. Only a handful of Mexicans actually held skilled or professional positions, mostly as carpenters, whereas the majority, 420, held construction jobs. Yaqui Indians occupied only two positions-track repairmen and construction laborers.^[42] Over time, this triple-wage and employment hierarchy became a point of contention between Mexicans, Yaquis, and Anglo-Americans.

Guaymas versus New Guaymas

Guaymenses looked forward with great anticipation to the construction of the  railroad . City leaders expected that construction would stimulate the economy of their city, encourage business, hotel construction, and other improvements. Promises made by both American and Mexican  railroad  promoters buoyed Guaymas merchants. To gain support, the Atchison-Topeka and Santa Fe advanced the idea that the Sonoran  railroad  would give the United States East Coast access to Asian markets. The New York Times reported that the  railroad  franchise would grant the Boston-based firm a "virtual monopoly of the Australian, New Zea-

land, and South and Central American business."^[43] By significantly reducing distances to the east, Guaymas would undermine San Francisco's monopoly on Pacific trade. The paper further indicated that the Sonoran  railroad  would bring "Australia and New Zealand 1,000 miles nearer to this city [New York] than they now are."^[44] Guaymenses, eager to see their port become an important center of Pacific trade, embraced these claims.

When the  railroad  fired up its first locomotive and tested the tracks, the entire town of Guaymas flocked to witness the spectacle. One newspaper indicated that everyone, "rich and poor, young and old crammed into the carriages like sardines . . . while others went by launch" to view the test. After several trial runs, the company hosted a party for all present, serving the "women guests champagne, and the men cognac and beer and English nic nac cookies."^[45] For the townspeople, most of whom had never seen a locomotive, the afternoon spectacle seemed to verify the promise of the  railroad . The exhilaration, however, proved short-lived. From the outset,  railroad  construction became mired in controversy. Instead of building in Guaymas, company engineers began construction of a station south of the city, next to the island of Ardilla and Punta Arena at a place later called Empalme, where they built their own wharf to unload materials arriving from the United States. Appalled at this slight, the Guaymas town council proposed that the station be built at a place known as Punta de Lastre, which was closer to the city. In 1880 notables, including the senior José Maytorena, dispatched a letter to the governor and to Mexico City demanding immediate action.^[46] Other Guaymenses threatened to block construction if their demands were not addressed. El Monitor del Comercio began to criticize American actions, insisting that the "New Guaymas would ruin old Guaymas as all the trade and commerce would go to the New Guaymas."^[47] In 1880 the New York Times noted that "bad blood was brewing between Mexican and Americans."^[48] The central Mexican government appointed a high-level committee composed of Carlos R. Ortiz, Robert R. Symon, and Luis E. Torres to resolve the issue.

The Sonoran governor sent his own version of accounts to Mexico City. He indicated that trouble began when several leading families in Guaymas had tried to sell their indebted laborers to the  railroad  in hopes of making a profit and had been rebuked. News of hiring, however, had produced a flood of applicants, and the  railroad  did not need the indentured laborers.^[49] Since then, Guaymas notables, according to the governor, had grown resentful of the American operators and sup-

ported the Monitor del Comercio in order to attack the  railroad .^[50] The official state press criticized local notables and lauded the efforts of the American company insisting that since it began hiring, the streets of Guaymas and Hermosillo had been rid of most vagrants and drunkards.^[51]

Beyond issues of labor, many Guaymenses objected to the near total insensitivity of the Americans. Mexicans had never anticipated being displaced by foreigners, expecting instead that business and social practices would remain unchanged. To placate the Guaymenses, the  railroad , at the insistence of Ortiz, staged a large public celebration at which it provided food and refreshment and permitted residents to climb on board the newly arrived trains.^[52] Eventually the company also agreed to relocate the station to Punta Lastre. Despite the move, however, they continued to build storage facilities and a new town for American employees at the southern location. In 1882 the Guaymas merchant elite, including Camou, Maytorena, Aguayo, Iberri, Huerta, Chisem, and Aguilar, circumvented the governor and requested the intervention of the secretaría de fomento (minister of development). They complained that despite an earlier agreement, the  railroad  continued to maintain a station two miles south of Guaymas and had also constructed an alternative town, which the Americans called Morley City in honor of the company superintendent. The merchants claimed that the new city undermined Guaymas, attracted new immigrants, depressed property values, and ruined commerce.^[53] In addition, José Maytorena, an influential hacendado and member of the Guaymas town council, maintained that with a private dock, Americans brazenly trafficked in contraband.^[54] The merchants argued that the establishment of a new town assured American dominance over the operation of the  railroad . They maintained that placing these operations within a Mexican community guaranteed a balance between native and foreign interests.

Despite the storm of protests, the  railroad  carried the day, and Junction City, as the Americans later called it, became a thriving foreign enclave in Sonora. The Mexicans later christened the town as Empalme, Spanish for "junction." Travel brochures and Americans in Sonora portrayed the settlement as a "pretty little American town."^[55] The New York Times described it as having streets christened with American names.^[56] The urban layout of Empalme betrayed its American origins since its streets were named after prominent American citizens: Calle Willard, named after the American consul; Calle Morley, named after

the company superintendent; and Calle Symon, named after the president of the  railroad .^[57] Home construction followed American design-raised wood-frame homes with fireplaces, white picket fences, and front and back yards. In addition, the  railroad  built a two-story social club for its American employees and an eighty-room hotel costing more than $100,000.^[58] Stores in Empalme sold imported American consumer goods brought in duty-free by the  railroad . As Empalme became more prosperous, Guaymas suffered. For Americans, life in Empalme revolved around the  railroad . Beside working for the company, the wife of an American employee noted that in their spare time they had many activities: "tennis, golf, boating, swimming, dancing, playing cards and with gossip the men are content and the women try to be."^[59] Except for work, Americans seldom left the protection of the town and resented old Guaymas, describing it as "a city of yesterday in the land of mañana."^[60] On repeated occasions, striking Mexican  railroad  workers referred to the American compound at Empalme as "Yankilandia."

North to Hermosillo

After leaving Guaymas, the laying of track proceeded quickly over the flat scrubland between the port and Hermosillo.  Railroad  construction, however, brought together large numbers of workers, and on payday, drunkenness, thefts, and even murders became commonplace in the temporary camps that dotted the route. Cy Warman, an American engineer, warned that "on a night that followed pay day, thoughtful men slept in storm cellars."^[61] To conserve the peace, Governor Torres appointed a special  railroad  police. Finding it difficult to restore order, the police eventually prohibited the sale of alcohol to  railroad  employees.^[62]

Despite the troubles, by November 1881 the  railroad  had reached Hermosillo and opened limited service between the capital and the port. To celebrate the occasion, both cities planned extravagant celebrations. The first excursion of the  railroad  was publicized throughout the state, and in anticipation, people flocked to Guaymas and Hermosillo. To accommodate the large crowds wishing to make the trip, government officials convinced the  railroad  to outfit several extra cars. The company decorated the stations in both cities and built a special platform for dignitaries and bleachers for the public. On the morning of November 4, 1881, the train departed Hermosillo for Guaymas. After a brief stay in Guaymas, the passengers returned to Hermosillo for a celebration that involved the entire city. City officials ordered lights

placed on all houses for a parade; a public dance and fireworks took place that night in the town square; and dignitaries attended a special ceremony at the Hotel Frances.^[63] Despite the mood of exhilaration that pervaded the crowd, a brief scuffle between an American conductor and a handful of Mexicans trying to board the train threatened to mar the celebrations. State officials tried their best to downplay the incident, while critics insisted that the dispute represented a harbinger of things to come.^[64]

Border Land Rush

Construction along the mostly unproductive flatland leading from Guaymas to Hermosillo did not give rise to fierce speculation in real estate. The same, however, could not be said about the move north toward the border. Anticipating important social and economic changes, the state government in 1880 sent a circular to all prefects and leading businessmen. It warned that "now is not the time to be "inactive . . . the completion of the  railroad  will bring a flood of immigrants that will absorb everything if we do not hurry and learn to exploit our own assets."^[65] Sonorans with resources, however, did not need the advice. Behind the scenes, they had already prepared for this day. By 1880 merchants and hacendados had firm control of city councils in Guaymas and Hermosillo. Merchants José Iberri, Juan P.M. Camou, Juan Bringas, and David Spence controlled Guaymas, and Manuel Mascareñas, Agustín Pesqueira, Carlos Nanetti, and Ramón Ayon held power in Hermosillo.^[66] Beside engaging in politics, on various occasions since the sale of the Mesilla in 1853, they had openly speculated in northern real estate. With news of the iron horse confirmed, notables engaged in the largest land grab in the state's recent history laying claim to huge tracts along the northern border.

Land which for decades had laid fallow acquired importance literally over night.^[67] The weekly edition of the state newspaper, La Constitución, grew thicker as it published long lists of denuncias (land claims). The Camou clan purchased thousands of acres in Magdalena, Arizpe, and Altar and prime land next to the border in Nogales and Agua Prieta. In September 1880, for example, José Camou, Jr., claimed ranchos known as Agua Prieta, Santa Barbara, Nardenibacachi, Agua de Baltazar, La del Gato, La de Tomas Romero, and La de las Mesteñas in the district of Arizpe.^[68] All family members, including their children, had land claimed in their name.^[69] After the dust had settled, the

Camous and a handful of Sonoran elites controlled thousands of choice northern acreage. By 1881, La Constitución reported that little if any unclaimed land could be found in the north.^[70]

Not all stood to benefit from the  railroad . The indigenous and small rancheros throughout the north felt besieged by the onslaught of speculators. Most treated indigenous lands as terrenos baldios (empty lots), disregarding their traditional owners.^[71] In Nacori Chico, for example, Francisco Valencia had claimed all lands owned by the Indians as his own. Incensed, the indigenous people protested, but to no avail. Rancheros also railed against incursions onto their land by  railroad  engineers and buyers who disrupted the ranches' operations. Owners of the Santa Ana and Santa Marta ranches complained to the prefect of Magdalena that their fences had been torn down, crops damaged, trees cut, and animals scattered by the actions of the road crew. The prefect, Joaquin Monroy, promised to work for an amicable solution that would please both parties.^[72] State officials did not share Monroy's view and repeatedly decided in favor of the  railroad  company. On more than one occasion Luis Torres insisted that nothing would stand in the way of the  railroad .

A Northern Orientation

The  railroad  and the economic growth it inspired propelled a sweeping physical realignment in the state toward the north. For many Sonoran notables and middle-class persons, progress and growth became synonymous with commercial links to the United States. With access to transportation and American investments, the once depopulated northern districts became centers of mining, cattle production, and agriculture. The potential of the border districts appeared unlimited: copper mines in Arizpe, cattle production in Magdalena, orange groves in Hermosillo, gold and silver mines in La Colorada. The north became a magnet attracting hundreds of Mexican and Yaqui laborers. This movement initiated a fundamental reorientation for a state and its people, which previously did not have border settlements.

By 1885, events occurring in the port of Guaymas highlighted the realignment taking place within Sonora. Traditionally, the merchants of Guaymas and Hermosillo had enjoyed a virtual monopoly on trade within the state. As Sonora's principal port, Guaymas had been the state's door to the outside world. Its strategic location on the central coastal region allowed both Hermosillo in the north and Alamos in the

south to share equally in its benefits. Instead of a boom in Guaymas, the  railroad  which provided access to the border altered the status of the old port city. The emergence of border towns caused the town to lose its stature as the "door" of Sonora as merchants and miners turned their attention north toward Arizona. Dramatizing the change that affected Guaymas, in 1885 the Sonoran  railroad  decided to move its headquarters from the port city to the border at Nogales.^[73] Guaymenses, as they had done previously, vigorously protested the action of the  railroad  company. Led by the venerable opposition leader, José M. Maytorena, they sent a petition signed by several hundred notables to President Díaz demanding that the  railroad  not relocate its offices. American interests, they argued, wanted to move their offices to the border in order to avoid Mexican oversight. According to them, Sonorans should keep the  railroad  offices in the interior, away from the northern border and undue American pressures. Díaz expressed sympathy with the plight of the Guaymenses but refused to halt the move.

Following the lead of the  railroad , merchants hoping to capitalize on the growing economic importance of the border also left the port and opened stores in the new border towns. Newspapers, such as the Monitor and the Estado de Sonora, soon followed, moving their publications to Nogales. In 1889, even the United States downgraded its office in Guaymas and moved the consul general to Nogales.^[74] Although the port's social and economic importance diminished, it continued to be an important regional trading center.

In many ways, the practices of the  railroad  and the lack of access to Mexico City continued to ensure the port's future. Some merchants found it cheaper to import heavy products by sea from San Francisco than to transport them by rail from Arizona. In addition, since no rail link existed to central Mexico, European products imported through Guaymas also remained competitive in Sonora. As Díaz Duffo points out, without a  railroad  linking Mexico City to the Pacific, "Scandinavian paper imported via de Cape Horn was cheaper in Guaymas and Mazatlán than that produced in Mexico City."^[75] Records kept by the United States consul bear out this contention. In 1883, the first full year of operation, Willard reported that merchandise imported through Guaymas amounted to 1.4 million while Nogales only recorded $157 thousand. ^[76] Goods smuggled across the border, over $200,000 worth by one estimate, remained greater than that which passed legally through Nogales. This trend persisted in following years.^[77]

The decline of Guaymas occurred gradually. Merchants did not sim-

ply abandon the port, but rather they diversified, keeping outlets in Guaymas while expanding operations to the north. Moreover, the port continued to supply the needs of the gulf region, exporting agricultural products to Sinaloa, Tepic, and Baja California. Its monopoly over Sonoran trade diminished as even European merchants found it cheaper to dock at New York and ship their goods by rail to Sonora rather than make the trip around Cape Horn.^[78] Beyond eclipsing Guaymas and overshadowing southern Sonora, the  railroad  produced other, more fundamental social changes within the state.

Social and Economic Integration

With the  railroad  completed, Sonorans expected to have access to cheap, reliable, and relatively safe transportation. Their expectations, however, failed to materialize. To recoup its losses, the  railroad  charged comparatively high rates for passengers and cargo. In a letter to the secretaría de fomento, Sebastian Camacho made the  railroad's  position clear. Hoping to compensate for the short length of the line, 422 kilometers, and the small and dispersed Sonoran population, the company planned to charge higher than normal fares.^[79] Making matters worse, in 1883, the first full year of service, the  railroad  only offered first-class tickets, calculated at three cents per kilometer. Second- and third-class tickets, mandated by the contract with the Mexican government, costing two and one and a half cents per kilometer, respectively, were not offered.^[80] Under these conditions, laborers and merchants paid the same rate. Beside inflated fares, passengers also complained of only being allowed thirty-five pounds of baggage and paying elevated rates for anything in excess. The United States consul reported that the Sonoran  railroad  charged higher rates than most American  railroads .^[81] Complaints soon deluged government officials in Hermosillo and Mexico City.

After years of anticipation, few people could actually afford to travel on the new  railroad . A one-way trip from Guaymas to Nogales, a distance of 442 kilometers, cost $12.75, beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest Sonorenses. Ramón Corral, then secretary of state, sent a complaint concerning the high rates to the minister of development.^[82] Beside the problem of fares, the  railroad's  schedule did not reflect the needs of most Sonorans. In 1883, on the northern portion of the trip, the train left Guaymas at 12:45 p.m., not arriving at Nogales until 3:30 a.m. On the southern leg, it left Nogales at 9:00 p.m., reaching Guaymas at 11:45 a.m. The company operated its schedule in order to con-

nect with the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe lines at Benson, Arizona, and expected the Mexicans to adapt to its requirements.

Confronting a storm of protest, in 1885 the company altered its itinerary and offered new fares. The establishment of lower prices increased ridership, and Sonorans began traveling throughout their own state. For the first time in their lives, large numbers of Sonorenses had access to slow but reliable transportation. Ridership grew from a low of 33,000 during the first full year of operation to a high of 253,495 by 1911. The year the  railroad  commenced operations, the state census recorded 108,000 inhabitants, and by 1910 the population reached an all-time high of 220,000. The numbers of people using the  railroad  appeared exceedingly high in proportion to population figures. Table 1 shows the total number of passengers using the  railroad .

Several factors influenced the slow rise in ridership during the first fifteen years. Mining and agriculture interests in the region responded slowly to the presence of the  railroad . Following completion of the line, Sonora's economy did not demonstrate a dramatic increase in the export of either mining or agricultural products. Rather, as it had in the past, the state continued to experience repeated economic contractions. Sonora endured several months of drought, and the port of Guaymas experienced a serious outbreak of yellow fever, which brought commerce to a standstill in the region. Wars against the Yaquis continued to take their toll. According to the American consul Alexander Willard, unstable conditions continued until 1887.^[83] While speculators actively promoted properties and mines, larger foreign investors moved slowly. Mining concerns such as Minas Prietas/La Colorada, Planchas de Plata, and Cerro Colorada did not fully develop until the late 1890s, and the boom at Cananea and Nacozari awaited the first decade of the twentieth century. After 1900, fluctuations in ridership, such as the increases in 1905 and 1906 and decreases in 1907 and 1908, responded to the economic boom-and-bust cycle repeatedly experienced by the Sonoran mining economy.

Yet even after accounting for travel by merchants, salesmen, and others whose livelihood depended on the  railroad , the extensive ridership suggests that diverse social groups made use of rail transportation. After 1885, as wages continued to increase and rate structures stabilized, elites no longer had a monopoly on travel. At one and a half cents per kilometer, it cost a little over six pesos to travel the entire distance of the  railroad  from Guaymas to Nogales.^[84] The  railroad  serviced twenty-six different stations, and company records indicate that most

passengers bought third-class tickets to travel short distances. For example, in 1892, of the 54,172 passengers that used the  railroad , 34,086 or 63 percent purchased the lower-class tickets. In 1905, of the 138,340 who traveled, 97,717 or over 70 percent paid third-class. These figures remain consistent from year to year. The average kilometers traveled by passengers went from a high of 106 in 1901 to a low of 70 in 1901 and indicate that most journeys remained restricted to the confines of the state.^[85] Stations such as Guaymas, Hermosillo, and Magdalena saw the greatest amount of traffic. Leopoldo Zamora, the Mexican administrator, reported that in the first few years of operation, 86 percent of travel tended to be local. Less than 14 percent of travelers made the trip as far north as Nogales. Of those, according to Zamora, the majority were Americans.^[86] Rather than a mass exodus to the north, travel by  railroad  seemed to have increased levels of social interaction among the onceisolated Sonorans.

Several reasons existed for this increased social interaction. The traditional factors which compelled people to migrate-Apache attacks, political acrimony, and the lack of jobs-had been mitigated. By the mid-1880s the issue of Apache raids had all but been resolved. However unpalatable the rule of the Torres-Corral-Izábal triumvirate may have been to some groups, it had inaugurated a period of relative political stability The completion of the  railroad  allowed Sonora to experience a mining boom of unprecedented proportions.^[87] With foreigners providing an infusion of capital, operations at Minas Prietas, La Colorada, Nacozari, Cerro Coloraria, and later Cananea quickly expanded, becoming major employers. With access to transportation, cattle ranching and agriculture provided jobs for hundreds. Although working conditions continued to be deplorable, employment could be found throughout the state. More importanty, for the average person, few reasons actually existed for traveling to the border. Since merchants throughout the state carried large quantities of European, Mexican, and American merchandise, Sonorans no longer needed to travel north to acquire consumer goods as they once did.

The  railroad  facilitated the integration of the once-fragmented Sonoran economy. Although Guaymas, Hermosillo, Magdalena, and Nogales remained the most important commercial terminals for the  railroad , the intermediary stations played important roles in unifying the Sonoran economy: the Maytorena station serviced the adjacent cotton district; the stop at Pesqueira handled goods for the Los Angeles textile mill at Horcasitas; and the Ortiz depot received coal from mines

at La Barranca and Suaqui which made its way to smelters in Sonora and Arizona. At Torres a spur line brought silver and gold from the rich La Colorada and Minas Prietas mines, and the Santa Aria branch attended to the Altar district.^[88]

The average miles traveled by cargo, approximately two hundred, underscored the active import-export economy which the  railroad  fueled. From Nogales, the ledgers of the American consular officer included an ever-growing list of manufactured consumer goods, clothing, beer and liquors, luxury items, and heavy machinery. Likewise, Sonoran raw materials and goods flowed to the United States in ever increasing quantities. From Guaymas, J. A. Naugle, the company manager, noted regular shipments of iced fish and oysters. Hermosillo sent pelts, wheat, corn, tobacco, mescal, and other agricultural products, mostly for internal consumption. Oranges loaded at Hermosillo and Guaymas, the only real fruit Sonora exported, reached California, New Mexico, Arizona, and as far east as Chicago.^[89] Magdalena and Ymuris furnished cattle on the hoof and horses for export to the United States. Bulk cargoes of copper, gold, silver, antimony, and coal streamed north to processing plants in Arizona.^[90]

Besides economic integration, the  railroad  also ended the state's geographic isolation, bringing large numbers of Sonorans face-to-face with each other. Mining and access to transportation stimulated internal migration, and in the final two decades of the nineteenth century Sonora experienced sustained patterns of urban growth. By taking people from isolated valleys and small hamlets and bringing them into contact with one another, the contours of a regional culture slowly emerged. Interaction between Sonorans also permitted a greater standardization of cultural practices in dress, food, sports, and language. People from Guaymas found out how people from Hermosillo and Magdalena lived and worked. Dietary patterns became more diversified. Fish and oysters from Guaymas could now be sold in Hermosillo. Products from the ranchos and haciendas around Hermosillo made their way to Guaymas in sizable quantities.^[91]

Social interaction, including interpersonal contact, music, and sports, also increased. Musical groups or conjuntos traveled from one mining center to another entertaining workers. The northern elite and even some of the common folk commonly vacationed on the beaches surrounding Guaymas.^[92] On special occasions, such as the festivities honoring Saint Francis at Magdalena or New Year's in Hermosillo, the Sonoran  railroad  added additional passenger cars to meet the rising de-

mand.^[93] For certain events like the carnival in Guaymas or concerts and political rallies, the company ran special passenger trains.^[94] In 1893, for example, it advertised special fares from Nogales during the last two weeks of February to attend carnival in Guaymas. For a round trip fare of 15 pesos in first class and 10 pesos in second class, passengers could travel to Guaymas and stop at any station along the route for as long they desired.^[95] Regional festivals, once limited to a given area, became statewide events, adding to the region's folklore. Except for the still-isolated mountain regions of Sahuaripa and Moctezuma and Alamos in the south, contact among Sonorans dramatically increased from 1883 to 1910.

With the establishment of regular transportation, most communities along the route geared their commercial and even social activity to the arrival and departure of the  railroad . Writing to Mexico City, Zamora reported that most towns along the line now "tacitly operated on the  railroad's  schedule."^[96] The tempo of cities such as Hermosillo, Guaymas, Nogales, and Magdalena revolved around the arrival and departure of the  railroad . The blaring steam whistle of the  railroad  announced to the entire town the arrival of the iron horse. The train station became the hub of economic, social, and political activity, usurping the previous role of the central plaza. Municipal authorities went to great pains to build and maintain impressive depots. Employees from merchant houses lined up to receive new stocks. Families congregated to greet visiting relatives. Political rallies greeted local and national dignitaries. Buggy drivers eagerly awaited the arrival of passengers. Competing hotels offered free transportation to arriving guests. Vendors hawked their wares and food. Newspapers reported passenger traffic, their nationality, purpose of trip, and length of stay. A new orientation toward business time, set by the  railroad  schedule, increasingly dictated activities in towns traversed by the  railroad .

Breaking the Isolation

For Sonorans the presence of the  railroad  produced one additional benefit-it shortened access to Mexico City from over thirty to less than four days. To travel from Hermosillo to Mexico City; Greenville Holms, an American journalist, found it necessary to "return to the United States and make a weary journey through Arizona and New Mexico to El Paso whence the Mexican central Railways runs down to the capital."^[97] By following this rather circuitous path, travelers

boarded the Central Mexican railway at Ciudad Juárez and arrived in the capital in less than two days. After 1884, dispatches to or from Mexico City proceeded by this route, as did most political and military appointees. Reversing the roles of years prior, the United States government also granted special permission to the Mexican government to transport troops and equipment from El Paso to Nogales. Finished goods and agricultural products from interior of Mexico also reached Sonora in this manner. Underscoring the dependency implicit in this relationship, whenever American  railroad  workers went on strike, as they did in 1894 and in 1902, Sonora lost contact with the Mexican capital.^[98]

For notables, connections with United States  railroads  expanded their political vistas and economic orientation. A trip to New York took less than six days and to San Francisco only two.^[99] Business interests in American cities took note of developments in Sonora. A reception for the Mexican ambassador, Matias Romero, by New York business circles in 1891 included remarks on the life of Sonoran Carlos Conant and investments in the Yaqui valley.^[100] Sonoran politicians and wealthy merchants such as Corral and Camou became regular visitors to American cities. When Corral married Amparo Escalante in 1888, the event appeared in both the San Francisco Examiner and the New York Times .^[101] Other notables also traveled extensively. In 19O8, Alberto Cubillas temporarily assumed the governorship when Torres departed for Europe and Izábal for Mexico City. Elites began to vacation outside of the state. The Sonoran  railroad  offered special excursion fares to Long Beach, Catalina Island, and a host of other tourist attractions.^[102] On several occasions, José Camou and his brother visited Hot Springs, Arkansas, and received treatments from the town's clinics before traveling to visit Niagara Falls. They regularly made business trips to San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. No longer imprisoned by natural barriers, Sonoran elites developed broader perspectives of the world around them.

The history of the Sonoran  railroad  embodies both structural as well as social dimensions. It underscores the relationship between the northern Mexican desire for economic development and the ever-present fear of cultural absorption by the United States. At every turn, proponents of increased relations with the north confronted critics who feared a loss of Mexican identity. This issue did not disappear with the completion of the  railroad . As skeptics had feared, economic activity permitted local Porfiristas to solidify their grasp on power. Likewise,

notables consolidated their control over northern land and commerce. As could be expected, new power centers in the north, such as Hermosillo, grew while those in the south languished. In the northern urban areas, commerce and economic activity with the United States increasingly dictated the tempo of city life. While accentuating economic relations with the Americans, rail transportation also permitted the integration of the northern Sonoran economy, bringing significant numbers of state residents face-to-face with each other. Beside cultural exchange, this unexpected outcome provided the foundations for broader political participation and collective action.

Despite the rhetoric of their earlier speeches, state politicians did little to actually strike a balance between American investments and Mexican interests. Their decisions on issues that pitted Mexicans and Americans against each other betrayed their growing partnership with the foreigners. The state government urged Sonorans to go out of their way to welcome Americans entering the state since they were "the agents of progress."^[103] For their part, state leaders announced they would do everything in their power to facilitate American investments, and the history of the Sonoran  railroad  verified this assertion.