Bisbee daily review., 1908-06-07
International Street is the Line
of Demarcation Between
Two Cities and Two
Countries.
THE ADOBE DOLLAR
IS LARGELY USED
In the General Transaction of
Business on Both Sides of
international Line.

Thirty-one years ago the writer,
with two other gold seeking Ameri-
cans. crossed the international line
into Sonora where the town OF No
gales now stands They had five Cal
ifornia horses, three saddle and two
pack animals. One of the trio of adj
yeRturers never lived TO return, but
died and was buried near the town of
Saracache, a worn out. disappointed
man. His name was George Don
nelly, and it was supposed that he
came from near GAINESVILLE, Ohio. al
though the writer has no certain
knowledge to that end. The roan
crossed the international line a little
east of the present monument on In
te~national street. The street was
then deep gulch and the monument
which consisted of Pile of stones.
stood ON the south b2nk. Some enyi-
Gus soul had pushed it down, but
enough of it remained TO tell the tale
OF international jurisdiction. At that
time the Southern Pacific had not yet
reached the Colorado and the Arizona
& Sonora railway had neither been
born nor thought of. That was less
than generation ago. The appar-
entity Impossible happened. At Ben
son a bud burst from the main stem
aud the branch grew until il reached
the port of Guaymss. Around the old
stone monument two towns sprung
into existence. The gulch was fllea
and in course of time became Inter
national street, 120 feet wide, one-halT
of which is American, the other hall
Mexican, each guarded day and night
by custom officers. At first there
was nothing but bunch of tents but
these were speedily followed by sub
stantial frames. At first the town
was known by the name of IsaacsOn
from a storekeeper by name of Isaacs
but as the town throve in Importance
it sloughed off Isaacson and for time
was known as Line City, and this in
turn gave way TO Nogales. the present
name In plain English the name
means Walnuts. The Spanish people,
in their nomenclature of towns aud
places. are almost invariably governed
by natural objects; thus the town,
south of the line, was known as NC
gales" from the earliest settlement,
in honor of grove of walnu. trees
which at that time occupied a part of
the site of the present Mexican town
The name cutting the English out
of il, is both euphoniOus and apprO-
pirate. Although the tree he's not yet
borne its full fruitage. the stock is of
thrifty growth, and another ten years
VIII probably see it treble its present
population Today Nogales, Arizona
has population of 5000, OF whom at
least half are Americans. 1t has
churches, school houses and lodge
rooms and newspapers. May of its
best buildings are of brick and stone.
Among the latter the county court
house is one OK the prettiest and most
substantial looking buildings in the
territory. Nogales is the county seat
of Santa Cruz county, and represents
probably two-thirds of the wealth of
the county. Every class of business
incident to thriving little city is
represented. It has electric lights,
telephone and water system, and as
many private and public utilities as
can be found in larger and more pre-
tentious cities.
Nogales, Sonora. south of InteTna-
tional street, has about the same
population as IT'S northern neighbor
1t contains many fine residences and
business buildings, notably the Gus
toms house. Both towns are similar
~ SiLGcJcu III reference 10 interior
towns of Importance, but Nogales, Ari-
iona, has the advantage Of nearness
by more than a hundred miles. Tue
son with its American ways on the
one hand, and Hermosillo with its
Mexican ways on the other, are sup
posed to have a dominating influence
over smaller and dependent towns.
but Mexico with its deprecated cur
rency appears to have the underhOld
and pulls Nogales, Arizona, down to-
its level instead of being lifted up by
its northern neighbor. Instead of
trade being dominated by the dollar
FOR dollar value of the United States,
the two collars for one is the govern
ing commercial principle. There are
two prices for everything marketable
the ruling rate universally being
two dollars Mexican to one dollar
American. Both coins are blessed
with eagles on their faces, but it is
turkey to rooster in the make up of
The two birds. Merchandise exposed
sor sale in the show windows of the
different mercantile establishments
irrespective of the international
boundary Iine-aTe about the same,
but on the American side the price
ticket is invariably marked Mex"
II is also a noticeable fact that If
change is coming on an American