By Ignacio Ibarra
The Arizona Daily Star

AGUA PRIETA, Sonora - Juan Gabriel sat in the shadow of a railroad trestle, nursing cuts and scrapes collected on the hike from the city.

Nearby, a companion bandaged blisters on his feet with strips of dirty cloth. Ten other men hid beneath the bridge, waiting for darkness to protect them from the sun and the U.S. Border Patrol across the line.

They had started their walk the day before, sticking to trails in the dense brush south of the tracks to avoid being seen by agents and bandits.

The men still had a few gallons of water between them, but hadn't eaten since they left the Agua Prieta. It would be hours before they could cross the line and reach the vehicle that was supposed to be waiting for them somewhere in the valley below.

Their walk to the bridge ``was very hard . . . it was hot, and all of the plants are full of spines that stick in you or scratch you,'' said Gabriel, 20, of Mexico City, who wore street shoes and light clothing more suited for the classroom than the southeast Arizona desert.

The desert here is more forgiving than the barren expanse around Ajo and Sells where at least eight migrants have died this year. This area has more homes, ranches and farms where a traveler might seek help in an emergency.

But this land, too, can prove deadly.

In the summer of 1996, two young women were found dead, victims of dehydration during a border crossing here. The body of one, a young Peruvian woman with an empty water bottle, was found near a windmill about two miles northeast of here. The second was found a half-mile to the west, just south of the limestone mine at Paul Spur.

The dangers do not come close to deterring Gabriel and other migrants from attempting the crossing.

``I'm a student, but I left school to find a job and help my parents,'' said Gabriel, who had hoped for a career in computers. ``If I could do that in my land, I wouldn't be here risking my life with these men.''

Catalino Vielma, 41, said there's no way he can provide for his family on the 250 pesos (about $25) he can earn a week as a farmworker, so he decided to head north, find a job and send money home.

It's not the first time. He's worked agricultural jobs all along the Eastern Seaboard, and spent a few seasons working construction in upstate New York.

Vielma and 30 other men and 12 women began their journey into the United States with a midnight hike along the border east of Agua Prieta through dense mesquite and creosote and the occasional prickly pear cactus.

The group crawled under the border fence at a wash a couple of miles east of town, then skirted the southwestern edge of the Perilla Mountains on their way to meet a ride to Phoenix somewhere on Arizona 80.

They never made it. A Border Patrol agent following their trail caught the entire group napping in a wash. Only the suspected smuggler managed to escape.

``It was a very hard walk, my feet hurt and I feel very tired,'' said Vielma. ``It is much more difficult than I remember, It's more expensive, and there are many more border (agents) than the last time.