History | Family | Lost Pix

These pictures are from the archives of Dr. Emeric deNux... on my mothers side of the family. The photos were discovered at a cousin's residence in France. As the title suggests, these stereo card pictures have been lost and found more times than one could imagine. These pictures are mostly around the Avoyelles Parish area of Louisiana. This series of photographs was taken circa 1868, which is when Emeric deNux left Europe and came to Louisiana.

Dr. Emeric deNux - Huge cypress trees like this one do not exist anymore. Note the high flood water elevation lines on the tree. These trees were logged and floated down swamps and bayous. Several lakes were created from dammed cypress log floats.	The Hunt - Again, the water marks indicate elevations of natural flood plains before they were engineered into the "spillways" we have today. Spillways, a low dry swath of reserved land, relieve the occasional controlled flooding of a cresting Mississippi River.	Riverboat Selma - A modest riverboat designed to navigate the numerous smaller tributaries for trade goods. I believe this is on Louisiana's Red River.	Cabin
Native peoples of Louisiana consisted of Atakapa, Opelousa, Coushata, Chitimacha, Houma, Tunica, Natchez and Koroa.	Indian Temple - I don't know why, but this shot reminds me of the South Pacific...	Sugarcane and Mill - Cotton and sugarcane where enormous crops. Later, moss was harvested for car seats and upholstery. Cypress was logged to near "extinction".	Gator Hunt - That's a pirogue they are in... a canoe made from a hollowed tree trunk.
Cotton Field	Moss, Shade, Rest, Swamp - I think this shot is a classic. You can almost hear Emeric say (in French), "It's beautiful over here, but is it always this hot and humid?"	Cotton Pickin - Can you spot 'ole Emeric under the white umbrella? Emeric went on to publish the popular children's "Where's Waldo" books. (Just kidding...)	Gator Hunt 2