ISHPEMING — “The strike of the Marquette county mine workers has ended, the men deciding to accept the proposition made to them by their employers eight weeks ago. On Wednesday the Champion forces decided to return.

The same day hundreds of men applied for work at the Ishpeming mines and Thursday morning the Dexter (Diorite) men announced their desire to resume. On Thursday the Negaunee and Ishpeming miners voted to return after a very bitter struggle to secure the needed majority.

Iron Ore has no wish to dwell upon the causes that led to this late unpleasantness between labor and capital, or to many incidents occurring since the trouble began.

What we can say, however, is that many of the miners were not in sympathy with much that has taken place. As a whole they are entitled to praise for their orderly conduct and temperate expression” (Iron Ore, September 21, 1895)

After two months the strike was over. Neither of the papers elaborated on why the miners decided to settle but it was probably economic. Winter was coming and homes needed to be heated. In addition, many of the stores in Ishpeming stopped extending credit. They had taken a big hit in their sales, since the miner’s families were only purchasing necessities.

“The results of the strikers’ meeting yesterday was a disappointment to many of the men themselves, as well as the citizens generally. It was hoped and believed that, inasmuch as the mine officials had positively refused to grant any further concessions to the men and had defined their position so clearly to the committeemen who called to confer with them Monday evening, action declaring the strike off would surely be taken. But that expectation was disappointed, although a number of the men present endeavored to bring about its realization.” (Mining Journal, September 18, 1895)

“The striking miners have formally declared their struggle to obtain the scale demanded by them at an end, a majority voting to call the strike off at their meeting at the park yesterday. The attendance at the meeting was fairly large, as the vote taken shows, and the situation was fully canvassed before decisive action was taken.

On the proposition to declare the strike off the men divided and a count of sides was made. It disclosed that the majority were for abandoning the strike and going back to work, but the vote was close, seven hundred voting in its favor and six hundred ranging themselves on the opposition side.

The men who favored continuing the strike accepted the result with a good grace, however, and many of them doubtless felt pleased that their side was in the minority, for all the men are heartily tired of the trouble and eager to go to work again.” (Mining Journal, September 20, 1895)

As it was, the iron mines were not the only mines in the area to experience hard times due to the strike.

“At the Roes gold mine interference with underground work has been occasioned by a scarcity of water in (the) Carp River.

From the latter source the mine mill secures its supply of water, it being forced to the plant by a pump operated by a turbine wheel. The extremely dry weather of the past three months coupled with the shutting down of the Ishpeming mine pumps affected the river greatly. There is a large volume of water pumped from Ishpeming iron ore mines, all of which goes into the Carp.” (Iron Ore, September 21, 1895)

With the end of the strike, it was time for the National Guard troops to leave. Mother Nature decided to give them a parting gift.

“The rain and windstorm which prevailed Sunday night was the means of driving the soldiers from ‘Camp Ishpeming’ and it was well that they left there, as several trees were blowing down and some of the tents were caught and crushed under them as they fell. The soldiers were all away from the grounds some time before the trees began to fall.

The storm was similar to the one which occurred on the night of the fifth, when Private Joseph Heimes of the Calumet company was struck and killed by a falling tree. It did not come up so suddenly, however, and the men had ample time to move out before its full strength developed.

The camp was entirely deserted and those who could not be accommodated at the hotels spent the night a various places throughout the city.” (Mining Journal, September 24, 1895)

It would be over fifty years before there was another miners strike of any consequence.