- — Plutor
Samual Mcelroy
From The Great Outdoor Fight
1855 Fight Champion. Mcelroy, sometimes known as the "Mad Scot" was one of the first literary champions. He left Europe just before the start of the Crimean War and came to America hoping to find work as a writer. Unfortunately, his thick accent and surly disposition made it difficult for him to find work in his chosen field. Instead, he found work as a railway laborer, hauling freight and repairing rails for most of 1854. During this time he kept meticulous diaries, many of which are fascinating insights into the character of his fellow workers.
In these books, he reveals how a chance meeting with yard bull and fellow Scot Sully Mcphee led him to participate in the Great Outdoor Fight of 1855. I went 'long as a lark t'first. Ta see a mun faht twer noothin ta'll special, righ? But ta see mun by t'hunnret or t'thousan all in a scrum. Where laik c'n ye se sooch otherwais? War? War tis fait wit' gons and swerds. Here t'is nacht boot yer strang raight arm.
Mcelroy's intention on the field was to act mostly as an observer, documenting the sights and sounds of the battle. Unfortunately, things did not go as he planned. Early on the first day he took a vicious blow to his abdomen. His attacker assumed that the liquid snapping sounds of his strike were shattering ribs, and that Mcelroy was out of the fight. He foolishly turned his back on the Scotsman. Mcelroy staggered to his feet and promptly clubbed down his attacker with an elbow to the back of the head. A quick personal inventory revealed that although he still had the blank book he had smuggled onto the field in his waistcoat, all of his pens and ink bottles had been ruined.
Improvising quickly, Mcelroy salvaged as many pen nibs as he could, dipped them in the blood of his fallen foe, and resumed writing.
Thus began one of the most bizarre of all Fights. Mcelroy would rest, documenting a fight in the blood of the loser until his "ink" coagulated beyond the point of usefulness, at which point he would move on to the next downed man. If no source of ink presented itself, he would assault the nearest person at hand, inflicting horrific injuries with his bare hands. The psychological effects were devastating. Seasoned brawlers could be seen running in panic, and for years afterwards, strong men would cower in terror after hearing the Mcelroy battle cry: "I need more ink!"
Modern DNA testing of his original fight diary, which is part of the permanent exhibit at the Great Outdoor Fight Museum, has revealed that it was written with the blood of more than seventy different people. The final published version of the diary, printed with sepia-colored but otherwise mundane ink, was a great commercial success. Indeed, it was one of the factors which led to the move from the Crandell farm to the current site at the Acres in 1857.
Many contestants who are documented in Mcelroy's diary and who survived the Fight of 1855 became minor celebrities and novelties of their time. Because Mcelroy did not personally know most of the men who became his ink supply, he either invented names for them or used the names he overheard used for them on the battlefield. Thus, these minor celebrities would proudly proclaim that "my name is writ in blood in the Mad Scot's diary". Few ever asked these men their real names, as Mcelroy's names seemed to suit just fine for their fans and many of the former contestants themselves. This is believed to be the origin of the archaic Fight term, "Name Writ in Blood".
