Gutierrez had first come to Tampa in 1884 due to a false rumor about the ability to find guava trees. Ybor had been attracted by Tampa's warm and humid climate, which kept tobacco fresh and workable, and its new transportation links. Close proximity (and Henry Plant's steamships) made import of fine Cuban tobacco easy by sea, and Plant's railroad made shipment of finished cigars to the rest of the US market easy by land. This relationship is acknowledged in the Seal of Tampa, which depicts Plant's steamship "Mascotte", a vessel that carried thousands of immigrants and tons of tobacco to Tampa.