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corporate name of this company is “The Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company." Its charter was formed, under the general railroad law of Massachusetts, on the 8th of March, 1881.

The concession from the Mexican Government was obtained on the 13th of June, 1881, and amended on December 5, 1882. The leading provisions are as follow: The right to construct or operate for ninety-nine years a trunk-line of railroad from Topolobampo Bay to Piedras Negras, on the Rio Grande; also to extend branches from the main line to Alamos, in Sonora, to Mazatlan, in Sinaloa, to Presidio del Norte, on the Rio Grande, and to other points—a total of about 2,000 miles. A subsidy from the Mexican Government of $8,064 per mile upon all of its lines—making a total of about $16,000,000. The freight tariff per ton for each kilometre of distance is not to exceed six cents on first-class, four cents on second-class, and two and a half cents on third-class goods, and one and a half cents on every ton of coal. The passenger rates per kilometre must not exceed three cents, two cents, and one cent and a half for the first, second, and third classes, respectively. The Federal Government agrees not to subsidize any parallel railway within a limit of twenty-five leagues on either side of the company's lines.

Wood is abundant along the greater part of the route. Pines and oaks are found at an elevation of 4,000 feet and