Dutch van der Linde

"We aren't thieves, John. We're fighting for something. A bit like you, only we're fighting for an idea, not just ourselves."

- Dutch van der Linde

Dutch van der Linde is a major character who later becomes the main antagonist in Red Dead Redemption.

He was the leader of the infamous Dutch's Gang, which once operated in West Elizabeth. Gang members included John Marston, Abigail Marston, Bill Williamson, and Javier Escuella. Once an altruistic rogue, Dutch gradually descended into madness, which causes the disillusionment of the other members.

Van der Linde had not been seen or heard from in several years and, despite claims of sightings, was thought to have perished in a fire following a botched robbery in 1904.

Marston and Williamson may have competed for Dutch's favor as hinted by Williamson's line "Dutch always said you were an arrogant son of a bitch!"

Red Dead Redemption
When Bill Williamson is killed in Mexico, Agent Ross refuses to return Marston's family and instead declares John is not finished. He is told Dutch van der Linde is back in the Blackwater region and Marston is obligated to kill him. Together with the Native American Nastas and Professor Harold MacDougal, John tries to hunt down Dutch. John kills a scout after a battle to reach Dutch's mountain hideout and picks up his binoculars, a vital tool in Red Dead Redemption. When looked through, John observes Dutch killing a police officer. He then looks through again and Dutch has his pistol pointed at Marston. A shot is fired, but it hits the binoculars and knocks Martston out. Dutch recruits disenfranchised young Native Americans off of the local reservations for his new gang. John and a posse of U.S. Marshals stake out the bank and wait for a chance to kill Dutch. The mission goes south when the gang kills a man in the front entrance and fights off the posse for a few minutes. John corners Dutch in an upper room but he has taken a woman hostage and uses her as a human shield. Dutch escapes after shooting the girl in the head and throwing her body into Marston's arms.

In the final assault on his hideout with the U.S. army, John chases him to a nearby cave. At the top of the cave system Dutch is backed to a cliff by Marston. Marston and Dutch exchange words with Dutch explaining how he can't fight his nature, he can't change. He then tells John that they are a dying breed in a changing world. He casts himself off the cliff and falls to his death. Agent Ross uses Marston's pistol to shoot the corpse and claims it will look better in the report.

Mission Appearances

 * At Home With Dutch
 * Great Men are Not Always Wise
 * The Prodigal Son Returns (To Yale)
 * And The Truth Will Set You Free (Killed)

Trivia

 * Dutch, in personality and lifestyle, very much resembles the antagonist, "Mr. Kurtz", in Joseph Conrad's famous novel, "Heart of Darkness". Dutch, like Mr. Kurtz seems to have lost his mind and gone off to live amongst natives. He could also be based on the character of Arthur Burns from the John Hillcoat film "The Proposition": a sadistic outlaw gone mad amidst the wilderness, hunted by his former gangmate.
 * The name "Dutch" may be a reference to Ernest Borgnine's character of the same name in the 1969 western film "The Wild Bunch". Both were portrayed as eccentric characters with antisocial impulses.
 * The name may also be a nickname like Irish, French and Welsh, as the surname "Van der Linde" is originally from the Netherlands.
 * Under "miscellany" of the newspaper that is issued after the bank fiasco, there is a small obituary for a woman named Muriel Scranton. It says that she "was killed by gunshot to the head in the First National Bank of Blackwater" and that she was married to a man named Joseph Scranton. This is more than likely the woman that was killed by Dutch. A bit more interesting is the tombstone of a Mrs. Jane Scranton who died in 1903, located in the Blackwater cemetery. The engraving says she, too, was married to a Joseph Scranton. It is possible that this Joseph Scranton is one person, and an unfortunate serial widower.
 * By saying he and John are 'a dying breed', he means the end of the Old West and incoming civilization.
 * In the mission "And the Truth Will Set You Free", when Dutch is forced off the machine gun, he has a High Power Pistol in his holster. When he is fleeing through the caves, the first time he fires at you is with a High Power Pistol, the second time he fires is with a Semi-Automatic Pistol, and when he is cornered, he has a rusty Cattlemen Revolver.
 * Dutch's appearance seems to be based on Lee Van Cleef in the 1968 spaghetti western "Beyond The Law"
 * Dutch is seen in the game wearing an orange longsleeve, which happens to be one of Dutch national colors also the color of the dutch national football team.
 * Another resemblance to The Netherlands is Dutch's last name. 'Van Der Linde' is a common last name in the Netherlands.