Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 November 1893 — “WE ARE SEVEN.” [ARTICLE]

“WE ARE SEVEN.”

Daring Deads of Bandits Bold as They Gobbled Up the Gold. An Express Train Looted [and Condaeter McNally Killed—Passenger* Believed of Valuable*, j 6 East-bound express train No. 51, of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, known as the “cannon ball,” due at Little Rock at2:lo a.m., was held up and robbed by seven masked men at Oliphant, Ark., several miles north of Newport, at 10 o’clock, Friday night. Passenger conductor J. P. McNally was shot and killed while trying to protect his train. Oliphant is a small lumber town of about three hundred inhabitants, situated in a lonely timber district in White county. When train No. 51 stopped at the station two men jumped on the engine and pointing revolvers at the engineer and fireman, ordered them to keep still. The other five men surrounded the express car, the door of #hich was open, and at once began firing a wicked fusilade from their revolvers. Conductor J. P. McNally drew his revolver and returned the robbers’ fire, but before he had succeeded in Wounding any of them he was shot and killed. The robbers then entered the express car, overpowered the messenger and looted the car. Leaving two men to guard the train men, the other robbers proceeded to rob the passengers. They entered the coaches and sleepers and at the point of a revolver relieved all the passengers of their valuables. They then left with a parting volley taking a northernly direction. A telegram was at once sent to the sheriff at Newport, who formed a posse and started in pursuit. The railroad company has offered a reward of *3OO for the arrest of the robbers. Telegrams were sent to the marshals of all towns in the surrounding country and officers and men with bloodhounds are searching the country for the bandits.