He then stepped out onto the platform at the rear of a coach and began firing toward the front of the train with a revolver that he had borrowed from a passenger, Charles Land.
The robbers on the outside had began firing a constant volley of shots at the train and one of them hit Conductor McNally in the chest, he then fell backward on the platform, and died shortly after.
The robbers had forced the engineer, fireman and a porter to walk ahead of them as they entered the mail car and ordered P. B. Moore, the express manager, to open the door to the express car. After taking the cash and several boxes of jewelry from the safe in the express car, the robbers then all mounted their horses and disappeared into the night.
The Cannonball had arrived and had slowed down to be sure that # 51 was indeed on the siding and after seeing that his track was clear, picked up speed and shot past # 51 with the throttle wide open, having no idea what had just happened on # 51.
Baggageman William Chitman and Brakeman Charles A. Beehn rushed to the Olyphant station and telegraphed Newport, Augusta and Little Rock of the robbery and killing, then helped the engineer, fireman and porter back on the train and took # 51 on to Little Rock, Arkansas, a little bit lighter than it was before the robbery.
Conductor McNally's death, being one of the most beloved men in the railroad business, spurred an emotional and determined search for the robber gang.
At Newport, Sheriff J. M. Hobgood raised a posse and Sheriff Marshall Patterson of Woodruff County met him at Olyphant with his posse. In addition, Pulaski County Marshal Abner Gaines immediately came up by train from Little Rock with his posse, which obtained horses at Newport.
In all, ten county sheriffs with posses were eventually in pursuit of the bandits. Among them, were
T. J. Owens, of Independence, Tom W. Story, of Stone, Tom L. Harder, of White, J. B. Wilson, of
Faulkner, B. G. White, of Conway, Sam Livingston, of Baxter, J. R. Patterson, of Cleburne, M. H. Patterson, of Woodruff, A. C. Broadway, of Craighead and James H. Hobgood, of Jackson County.
Even though he was not part of the gang, the arrest of Clem Wackerly in Conway, an escaped prisoner from Jamestown, in Independence County, led to the arrest of three of the robbers.
The postmaster at Jamestown, told the sheriff of Independence County that a group of evil-looking men had camped at the Wackerly place the week before the robbery.
Early Sunday morning, November 5, 1893, some of the posse had an encounter with a number of men near Jamestown but were unable to catch them after a brief gunfight.
Later that day, six horses were found, one wounded, and some of the stolen jewelry, abandoned by the robbers. That afternoon, about three o'clock, Deputy Sheriff Oscar Pennington of Independence County, Sheriff Patterson and posseman Leon Lippman, walked through the woods, a few miles west of the Wackerly place and came upon two rough-looking, armed men. After questioning the two men, which had given their names as Lemons and Arnett, the lawmen found some of the stolen jewelry on the men and immediately arrested them.
After being locked up at the Batesville jail, the two men refused to answer any questions. However, on November 18, 1893, word was received from Benton County, that the two were local farmers in that county. Lemons was actually Tom Brady of Siloam Springs and Arnett was George Padget.
The seven men from the vicinity of Siloam Springs, had left their homes three weeks before, saying they were looking for a site to start a lumber yard. Their names were published as: Sam and Pennyweight Powell, Bob Chesney, Jim Wyrick, Ol Truman and Tom Brady, all from Benton County, and George Padgett, a whiskey peddler from Indian Territory near Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
On Saturday, November 11, 1893, a Jack Williams was captured by Deputy Marshal Copeland at Witt Springs, Searcy County, Arkansas. Jack Williams, who first gave his name as Adams, was identified as Alfred Mansker but later proved to be, in reality, John Hill of Mammoth Spring, Arkansas.
On December 2, 1893 , Jim Wyrick was captured in Crawford County, by Railroad Detective B. Helmick and taken directly to Little Rock.
All of the robbers, except Padgett, had small farms and families in Benton County, Arkansas.
Of all eight men suspected of participating in the robbery and murder, Mansker alone, had a background of train and bank robberies in Texas with the Williams Gang.
The trials of the four captured Olyphant robbers were set for January, 1894, at Newport, Arkansas, Jackson County. Judge James W. Butler of Batesville was circuit judge. The prosecuting attorney was Joseph M. Stayton, assisted by M. M. Stuckey. George A. Hillhouse and S. M. Stuckey were appointed by the court to defend the robbers.
The trials were the most famous that had ever occurred in Jackson County and were covered by newspapers from St. Louis, Missouri, Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock. The trials were held in the brand new county courthouse in Newport, parts of which were still under construction.
George W. Padgett was the principal witness for the state in the cases against Thomas Brady and James L. Wyrick. In return for his testimony, Padgett was not tried for murder.
The trial of Tom Brady was held January 24, 1894, and he was found guilty of murder in the first degree. James L. Wyrick was tried January 29, 1894, and also found guilty of murder in the first degree. Albert Mansker, who never admitted his real identity as John Hill, was also convicted of murder on February 6, 1894. The execution date for the three was set for April 6, 1894.
The fateful day arrived, they were brought to Newport from Little Rock, where they had been held.
The scaffold had been built in a fenced-in area on the courthouse grounds, so that no more than twenty five people could witness the execution or hanging. A Newport photographer, W. D. Ross, was allowed to set up his camera and equipment to take pictures of the individual train robbers and also of the hangings themselves.
Finally, in keeping with the standard form of execution in this country, Brady, Wyrick and Manskey ( or Hill ) were hung by the neck until dead and swung into eternity! Ol Truman was captured two years later, but he, along with the Powell brothers were set free. The general feeling in Newport was, justice had been served and paid for by Brady, Wyrick and Manskey!