Seward daily gateway., 1924-03-01
PAUL BUCKLEY Is AN
 INTERESTING oLD-T|MER


 Alaska is Paul Buckley, well-known from Ketchikan t. Attu Island in the far-away Aleutian 1 lands. Coming to Alaska in the old barkentine Mar ion," in 1896 to whau was then known as the Resurrection Creek" gold ex- citement, he was landed at Tyonok station in Cooks Inlet and from there went to Hope City on the little old steamer Perry" then commanded by Capt. Austin Latnrcp, now the mag nate" of the moving picture business in Alaska.
 MT. Buckley prospected the Turn again Arm country around Hope and Sunrise and was one of the original locators of the well-known Crow Creek placer property, which has been con- tinually worked since 1897 and last year produced over $50,000.00
 He was mining recorder at Sunrise and could tell many interesting tales of those early days, when thousands of gold seekers came to cooks Inlet and the Turnagain Arm country. In the fall of 1896 he headed a party of prospectors who were the first ones to go up to the head of the Sushitna River
 While up toward the head of the river he was struck by the magnificent view of Mt. Mckinley, then known IS "Bolshia," Zig Mountain) and was the first one to call attention of the Outside world to what he believed was the highest mountain on the North American continent.
 He wrote little article at that time, sending it to the San Francisco Examiner, the Chicago nter-Ocean, and the New York Sun, in which he described the mountain, stating he be- leved it to be more than twenty thous- and feet elevation.
 His party returned to Sunrise in the fall of 1897, not having found any placer diggings they thought good enough to stay with. In doing the assessment work on the Crow Creek Placers which he had located in 1896, rich dirt was struck and during the winter of 1897 and 1898 he and his partners Whip-sawed lumber for their slulce boxes and the following work ing season employed large number of men shoveling in gravel and took out enough gold dust to buy and in stall large hydraulic plant.
 In 1905 they sold out at a handsome figure to big California concern.
 In 1902 he put man in his place on Crow Creek to accept an engage ment as field engineer for the Trans | Railroad company, which had 1 started operations at Illiamna Bay, or the west side of Cooks Inlet. Their plan was to build a railroad across to | Nome, then to tunnel under Bering Straits to Siberia and build across to Petrograd, then known as St. Peters burg.
 The company wanted to acquire fuel and MT. Buckley put in that summer and fall prospecting along the Alaskan Peninsula, making his way all along that coast from Cape Douglas to False Pass in small dory
 He made number of discoveries of coal veins and also located large area of ground in the oil fields at Cold Bay, adjoining the Jack Lee locations.
 The Trans-Alaskan company after wards abandoned these claims. but they are now all covered with loca- Clons made in 1920 and will undoubteG- ly prove to be large producers of oil.
 After years of "ups and downs" in the mining game MT. Buckley accepted the U. s. Marshalship at Unalaska in 1914 and was one of the most efficient and popular officials in Alaska for number of years.
 He discovered and located the Akun Island Sulphur deposit These two sulphur properties being the only ones with commercial possibilities outside 'f the Texas and Louisiana sulphur ields. The Akun island sulphur prop erty is splendidly equipped with an aerial tramway, smelters, machine shops, wireless plant, store, bunk houses and dwelling houses, but the has been very badly misman- 'ged in re to the development of the nine and its financial affairs.
 Over six hundred thousand dollars vas raised for the development of the f but through gross misman- . Igement and incompetent men in l harge of the plant and mine the i property is now lying idle, but MT. 'uckiey expects to interest practical : mining men with ample financial back C