Moored on the north bank of the Kootenai River, the J.M. Schnatterly, a forty-five foot cabin cruiser, owned by John Miles “J.M.” Schnatterly was damaged by fire on April 11, 1923. “Killed in Explosion” was the headline of the April 12th Bonners Ferry Herald. The explosion “shook nearby houses and rattled the windows. All windows in the boat were blown out and every movable piece of furniture was knocked over or moved from its place. A player piano in the forward cabin was thrown over. In a few seconds the boat was a mass of flames that shot upward at times as high as forty to fifty feet,” the newspaper reported.
J.M. Schnatterly’s “sudden, violent death on April 11, 1923, caused the beginning of the end for the Gold & Ruby Mine.” ~ Small Towns, Big Dreams