1
Page 6/The Battalion/Wednesday, December 7,1983
Historian examines river life
Rio Grande’s past studied
United Press International
BROWNSVILLE — A.A.
Champion sits in a little room
with a magnifying glass and
46,500 index cards and outlines
the past life of the Lower Rio
Grande Valley and all the inter
connections that make it larger
than itself.
Champion is sought by histo
rians, government officials and
laymen alike for his knowledge
of the way things were. Many
seek information on the 1840s
when Brownsville was no more
than a series of fields cultivated
by Mexicans along the surging
Rio Grande.
Schooners and their wind-
lapped sails bobbed in the near
by Gulf of Mexico near the end
of their journey from New
Orleans to the docks at Brazos-
Santiago Pass — where goods
would be unloaded, placed in
mule trains and hauled to the
Italian, French, U.S. and Ger
man merchants trading in the
bustling market at neighboring
Matamoros, Mexico.
At 84 years of age. Cham
pion’s research throws off a
whirl of stories.
The northern Mexican states
and Texas Mexicans, he says,
were in “sympathy” with the
Anglos during the mid-1830s at
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the time of the Texas secession
from Mexico.
“The northern Mexican states
had no great love for the central
government of Mexico. They
had been mistreated and given a
bad time.”
Dressed in dark slacks, white
shirt and a contemporary tie.
Champion leans back in his desk
chair and crosses his hands be
hind his head and what’s left of
his white hair. His thoughts are
geared to another time.
He remembers the time be
fore manmade concoctions like
dams tamed the Rio Grande.
“Today we don’t even have a
river. We have a little ole’ dirty
creek that used to be a navigable
Rio Grande, rampaging Rio
Grande that would fill up twice a
year and overflow into the rest
of the country, be a sea of water
for weeks.
“Nobody could stop the Rio
Grande. It was a terrific stream.
Reddish, murky and swift what a
beautiful sight.”
Champion’s research has
allowed him to talk authorita
tively about the number of
steamboats that puffed and
churned up and down the river,
carrying Gen. Zachary Taylor’s
troops and supplies before and
during the Mexican-American
For 50 years, Albert Alfonso
Champion has been researching
and investigating the history of
the area, his home that was cre
ated in part by pioneer ancestors
who settled in Port Isabel when
there was not much there other
than Taylor’s troops, camped
and preparing for war with
Mexico.
Champion, born in 1899 in
what was then known as Point
Isabel, still manages real estate
and other investments.
Contemporary histories of
Brownsville rely on Champion’s
notes that go back to when the
Spaniards colonized Northeast
ern Mexico in the mid-18th cen
tury.
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Dec. 7-9
sponsored by the Marketing Society.
a
He also speaks of the time
when Spaniard Alonso Alvares
de Pineda First explord the Gulf
Coast from Florida to Veracruz
and landed south of the Rio
Grande, at present-day Soto la
Marina, Mexico, for 40 days in
1519.
Some historians believe that it
was the mouth of the Rio
Grande that de Pineda and his
men found, but Champion uses
a complicated and technical map
showing the shifting mouth of
the Rio Grande and other infor
mation to dispute that claim.
Champion has some disdain
for newspapers and their fast-
paced and sometimes frantic re
quirement to print information
that he feels is without deep and
thorough verification. But jour
nalists might find it comforting
to know Champion, who calls
himself a researcher and also
sometimes questions the accura
cy of historians.
“A historian can make an
error and that error will be repe
ated by others not going into
deeper research,” he said. “I
want history to be a deep, resear
ched, truthful history.”
For instance. Champion said
that the National Park Service
sponsored a team to study the
first Mexican War battle site at
nearby Palo Alto for considera
tion as a national park. But
Champion said he soon in
formed the researchers that
their calculations of the battle
field site just outside Brownsvil
le were off by about 3 miles.
LOUPOT'S
OFF CAMPUS CORNER
VACATION
CRIME
OFF CAMPUS CENTER
located in Puryear Hall
across the street
from the YMCA
Phone: 845-1741
The Christmas season is approaching quickly and this
means that most students will be leaving town to go
home for the holidays. Therefore, many of you will be
leaving your apartment, house condominium, duplex,
or mobile home unattended.
The Off Campus Center would like to remind all off
campus students that holidays, unfortunately, are
peak times for burglaries. Although several apartment
complexes in the Bryan/College Station area utilize
some form of security, the extent and effectiveness of
this security varies greatly among complexes. There
fore, you need to assume responsibility for protecting
your property against crime. Listed below are a few
precautions and simple security tips to help insure
that you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year.
TAKE THE
GUESSWORK
OUT OF YOUR
ROOM
JH r
Af
01! MA
NO
SEARCH
1. Strong locks are the single best deterrent to break-
Use a rod to secure a sliding glass door or window.
2. Remember not to leave keys hidden outside of your
apartment. If you can find them, so can an in
truder.
3. Never leave notes indicating that you are away.
4. Keep an inventory of your valuable possessions,
listing model numbers, serial numbers, and brand
names. Send a copy to parents or a relative.
5. Stop all deliveries including mail and newspapers.
6. If possible, ask a trusted friend to watch your place.
Be sure to leave a number where you can be
reached in case of an emergency.
7. Take valuables with you if at all possible, especially
TVs, stereos, sewing machines, cameras, typewri
ters and bicycles.
8. Try not to panic if your apartment has been entered.
Contact the police and the manager immediately.
Do not disturb anything, because the smallest de
tail could offer valuable information to police in
their investigation.
9. “Operation ID” is a program supported by your
local police department in which you engrave your
driver’s license number on valuable items. An en
graver may be checked out from the University
Police Department.
10. You may wish to use an automatic (on-ofl) timer on
a lamp. Timers can be purchased for as little as
$6.00.
We urge you to check with your apartment manager or
property owner before you install any additional
security devices, such as deadbolt locks.
For brochures and other information on crime pre
vention, contact the Police Department or come by
the Off Campus Center.
Are you looking for roommates for the up
coming spring semester? The Off Campus
Center is sponsoring roommate sessions on
December 7, 8, 9, 12, and 13 at 2:00 p.m.
in Room 402 of Rudder Tower. Sessions
will also be held on January 9, 10, 11, 12,
13, 16, 17, and 25; places and times will be
announced.
•0
i.UlE WISH You A
MERRY CHMTMS'
j: s n
]R<
Loupot’s Off Campus Corner is sponsored each month by Loupot s
Bookstore at Northgate as a service to Texas A&M students. Stories and
artwork are provided by the staff of the Off Campus Center.
Unite<
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inan C;
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are again I
from eau
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P1 he 1
pjjg[or of £
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would noi
“as a forn
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on [Friday
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its laws in
Dorm Decorations
Ciadi Ttckitt, Bttalux
Yvonne Garibay, a sophomore
biomedical science major from
Waco, and Beckie Blakeway, a
business analysis and management
major from Little Rock, Ai
display their prize-winning entn
the hall decoration contesi
Krueger Hall.
Structure defects found
in amusement park rid
United Press International
HOUSTON — The head of
the Consumer Product Safety
Commission says defects were
found in two other states on
amusement park thrill rides
similar to one that caused a fatal
accident at the Texas State Fair
this year.
Commission chairwoman
Nancy Steorts said an investiga
tion turned up structural defects
in Enterprise rides at Valdosta, .
Ga., and Lakeland, Fla.
At the commission’s recom
mendation, owners of those two
rides closed them down, she
said.
“When they saw what we saw,
they didn’t mind keeping it (the
ride) closed,” said Steorts.
A similar ride in West Palm
Beach, Fla., did not exhibit any
structural problems and con
tinued operation at a fair during
the past three months.
On Oct. 17 in Dallas, an En
terprise gondola broke loose
ther
[onwid
onal
OPEN HOUSE
Villa Oaks West
1107 Verde
ph. 779-1136
Mon-Fri 9-5
Sat-Sun 1-5
Pre-Lease Now-Move In Now
NoRenttill Jan. 15,1984
and flew onto the crowddj
Fair Midway, killing ok
and seriously injurir i ;|
others in the gondola. A
15 people were treated
juries
No official cause of tkti
accident has been
although inspectionsgi
vealed that bolts were
weakened on the ride.
It was the second tad
dent involving a State Fa I
in recent years. In
car plunged off the Si
ride, killing one man and
ing several other people
Steorts said invesdgal
engineers from the saffi#^ A * ;
mission were going to® 10111
amusement parks to tli»l^> n g-
safety of their rides. I* A cal
She said Texas hasnt»Mbnin
ing or inspections of
park rides, but 22 otte® Can
do
“In Texas there is
ance program, but ho|
next year there will bea
lion program,” she said
“We will encouragetl* 1
®hdy m,
)r of
iter.
JNDE<
• A m;
Jthird
to take a more activerol(-®Js Lib
licensing and inspecWP**ARA
these rides.” I * W°
Several multimillrfj Ve * )ee
lawsuits have been filedi«‘|i n |?Ph or
as a result of this year’sai
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL
XAE ACACIA K£
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MEN'S
EKA
ATO
RUSH
2X
FIJI
ATA
K A
Invites YOU To A Spring Rush
INFORMATIONAL MEETING DECEMBER l
1983
AGGIELAND INN
6:00-8:00pm
Call for more info
X Travis Erwin 764-7570 Greg Simonsen 693-6504
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