Van der Linde gang

"A gang of criminals, dissidents and free-thinkers who have chosen to reject a corrupt system of power and live instead by their own code. As the price on their heads continues to grow, so does the struggle to remain free."

- Rockstar Games.

The Van der Linde gang (also referred to as Dutch's Boys)undefined is an outlaw gang featured in Red Dead Redemption 2 as the main protagonist faction. It is also mentioned in Red Dead Redemption, alongside the appearances of several of its former members.

Background
"We shoot fellers as need shooting, save fellers as need saving, and feed 'em as need feeding."

- The mantra of the gang

The gang's roots lie in a fateful meeting between two robbers, Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews around 1877. undefined Van der Linde and Matthews met each other at a campfire on the road to Chicago. Hosea attempted to con Dutch, but realized that Dutch had stolen from him in the meantime. They both saw the skill that the other had and laughed, deciding to team up and face the future together. The Van der Linde gang was then founded. Around this same time, Hosea met a woman named Bessie, who would eventually become his wife.

Dutch convinced Hosea, who described himself as a "degenerate", that they could find redemption by robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. Dutch had a vision of a world without government or corporate interference, a "savage utopia" free from the pressures and intolerance of civilization. He saw himself as a revolutionary and thought that the gang could be an example to others who would follow their lead. They began pulling tricks and ripping off people they believed deserved it the most.

The pair found themselves in the town of Kettering, Ohio, where they began conning several people. They posed as international merchants, conning twelve locals into buying $300 worth of shares into a fictional Portuguese shipping company. They were eventually discovered and arrested by Sheriff Carmichael. On March 9th, 1877 the pair escaped from their cell by unknown means, tying up and stripping the sheriff in the process.undefined The same year they met, the pair stumbled across a fourteen year old orphan named Arthur Morgan. He was an unruly child, and they decided to take him under their wing, teaching him to read and other useful skills. Around this same time, Dutch became romantically involved with a woman named Susan Grimshaw, who also became a member of the gang. The gang acted as a family, spending long nights playing poker and other games. Bessie taught Arthur how to play dominoes. At some point the gang acquired a pet dog named Copper, who Arthur grew close to and took care of.

During these early years, Hosea and his wife tried to go straight and took a trip through states like New Hanover and Lemoyne. Hosea slowly drifted back to the gang, unable to fight against his own criminal nature. Bessie understood his struggle and stuck by him. Dutch ended his relationship with Susan, and at some point later became involved with a woman named Annabelle.

In 1885, Dutch came across a group of Illinois homesteaders preparing to hang a young boy for stealing from them. He saved the child, named John Marston, and brought him into the gang, teaching him to read and shoot just as he had done with Morgan. Arthur and John became like brothers, and Dutch often read to them from books by Evelyn Miller and Waldo Emersonundefined, even though most of the concepts went over the young boys' heads. Dutch educated the boys on his anarchistic worldview, instilling them with a distrust and hatred for the government. He told them that America was designed to produce apathy in people. He would preach that revenge was a fool's game and that they should never kill in cold blood. Over the years, many members of the gang came to believe that John was Dutch's favorite and "golden boy", much to the envy of others.

In 1887, the gang committed its first bank robbery. At 2 o'clock, Hosea, Dutch and Arthur burst in to the banking house of Lee and Hoyt. Arthur held a firearm up to the teller and demanded he throw up his hands. Dutch then proclaimed, "My fine patriotic friends and I are going to relieve you of some of that gold and introduce a few folks to the benefits of civilization". The gang made off with five thousand dollars in gold. After the robbery, they lingered in town, going to hovels, shanties and orphanages handing out money. It was around this time (and possibly because of this bank robbery) that Dutch became a wanted man with a price on his head.undefined Between 1887 and 1899, the gang robbed roughly 37 banks.undefined

At one point in the past, Dutch and Colm O'Driscoll, the leader of the O'Driscoll Boys, had an uneasy understanding/truce between them. Dutch disliked how Colm treated his men as disposable and Colm mocked Dutch for his philosophies about trying to make a "better world". Though the reason is unknown, Dutch broke the truce when he killed Colm's brother. In retaliation, Colm killed Dutch's lover, Annabelle - an event which greatly angered and devastated him. These events led to a blood feud between the two gangs which would last for years.

During the early years of the gang, they truly helped people and tried to make a difference.undefined Dutch even once scolded Arthur for stealing from a poor man's house, saying that it made them no better then the people they were fighting against. As the years went on, Dutch became disillusioned with the world as civilization continued to encroach on his idea of freedom. The gang stopped giving money to the poor and helping others and began to care only for themselves and their own survival. Dutch even allowed the gang to become involved in loansharking through Leopold Strauss, which often targeted the type of lower class people the gang used to fight for. Instead of just thieving, the gang also began killing, much to Hosea's dismay. Despite his objections, Hosea stuck around out of loyalty to Dutch, though his faith in their "mission" had been slowly erased over the years.

For the next 7 years the gang traveled throughout the frontier, the gang picked up around a dozen new members, all kinds of people who wished to escape and live outside conventional society, this mostly in included other con artists and gunsligers. It's unclear at what point many of these gang members joined. Mac and Davey Callander were brothers who were described as vicious and served as gunslingers for the gang. Karen Jones was a con artist and triggerwoman. Mary-Beth Gaskill, a young conwoman, met the gang as she was running away from someone she had just pick-pocketed. Tilly Jackson killed a member of her previous gang and lived on the streets until she met Dutch, who taught her to read just as he had done for Morgan and Marston. Simon Pearson was a former Navy man who was rescued by Dutch from loansharks; he would become the camp cook. Orville Swanson, a reverend with an opium addiction, once saved Dutch's life, earning himself a permanent place in the gang. Uncle was a petty thief and drunk who would keep spirits up in camp by singing and partying. Sean MacGuire was a young Irish gunslinger who attempted to rob and kill Dutch and Hosea in North Elizabethundefined, but was later adopted into the gang. Molly O'Shea was a woman who abandoned her rich family in search of adventure and romance; it's unclear how she joined the gang, but she later became Dutch's lover. Josiah Trelawny was a con artist who formed an association with the gang, becoming one of the only members allowed to come and go as he pleased. At one point, the gang had an unnamed traitor who was killed in camp.undefined

In 1894, a drunk veteran named Bill Williamson attempted to rob Dutch, but Dutch simply laughed at him. This infuriated Williamson at first, but Dutch cheered him up and took him into the gang, giving him a purpose and reason to live. Bill lacked conventional intelligence, but he made up for it with his unfailing loyalty to Dutch and the gang. Around this same time, Uncle introduced the gang to a prostitute named Abigail Roberts, who joined the gang and had sexual relations with several gang members.

Abigail eventually started a relationship with John, and soon became pregnant. John refused to accept responsibility for the child, insisting that it was not his. The baby, whose name was Jack, was subsequently raised by the gang, as he grew up he came to know many of the gang memebers as aunts and uncles since the gang considers themselves all family. When Jack was about a year old, John abandoned his son and the gang, this greatly angered Arthur Morgan who saw it as a act of great betrayal. About a year later John returned to the gang, while Dutch and many other memebers may have welcomed him back with open arms Arthur never truly forgave John for his actions. This would lead to a rift between the two "brothers" steadily grew over the next few years. In 1895, while stealing chickens, Dutch came across a young Mexican exile named Javier Escuella, who was also stealing chickens just to survive. Javier was starving and alone, so Dutch took him into the gang, feeding and clothing him. Javier, a former revolutionary, had a strong affinity with the gangs philosophy, and began to idolize Dutch. Javier would become one of the gangs most loyal gunmen.

By 1898, the gang found itself in Montana. Hosea caught several large salmon, planning a feast for the whole camp, until Copper found and ate the fish. Sometime after this, Copper passed away. After a fire and some trouble up in the north, the gang traveled south and east, taking a slow and tortuous trail down through the Northern Grizzliesundefined to throw off anyone tracking them. They then spent several months in the wilderness. During the winter, they stuck mostly to the western foothills of the mountain. Food was plentiful, and for a time, the gang lived in peace. Dutch eventually got a lead on some land for the gang to buy for their "savage utopia", but it either did not match up to Dutch's criteria or he grew suspicious that law enforcement was watching them. The gang began wandering again.

While traversing the Grizzlies, the gang picked up several new recruits. The first of these new recruits were Lenny Summers and Charles Smithundefined. At first Hosea was unsure of Lenny, but the two grew to mutually respect each other and become good friends. Lenny was literate even before joining the gang, and tried to use his knowledge to teach Sean how to read. Charles was used to surviving alone, but was surprised by how fairly Dutch treated him despite his race and decided to stick around, having found a place he felt he belonged in. The gang picked up two new members around this time as well: Jenny Kirk, who was found abandoned on the roadside, and Micah Bell, who saved Dutch's life. Dutch met Bell at a place named Crenshaw Hill, while trying to sell gold that the gang had recently stolen. Dutch ended up offending some of the locals, leading to an altercation where Micah stepped in and saved his life. After this, Dutch offered him a place in the gang.

By 1899, the gang arrived in the state of West Elizabeth and decided to camp outside the town of Blackwater, a town undergoing the process of industrialization. Eventually, Micah convinced Dutch to rob a river boat carrying money from the bank. Arthur and Hosea protested, believing that they had a better lead. Despite this, Dutch thought the heist would be worth the risk, and went ahead with it. The gang had several safe spots scoped out in the state of New Austin to fall back to after the robbery.

The heist does not go as planned and quickly takes a turn for the worst after Dutch kills a girl, Heidi McCourt. John, Davey, Mac and Jenny are all shot in the ensuing chaos, while Sean and Mac end up separated from the rest of the group. Sean is captured by bounty hunters at some point afterwards, and Mac is found on the verge of death by Andrew Milton, who promptly murders him and justifies it as a "mercy killing".

Colter Chapter
After the disastrous Blackwater heist, the gang fled to the northern state of Ambarino to evade law enforcement. The game opens with the gang being high up in the mountains of north Ambarino. Despite it being May, they become caught in a massive blizzard, which inadvertently helps stall the Pinkertons trailing them. Not wanting anymore surprises, Dutch sends John and Micah to scout ahead. Along the way, Jenny and Davey succumb to their wounds and die. Arthur discovers an abandoned mining camp, Colter, for the gang to take shelter in. After enduring the storm and the deaths of their comrades, the morale of the gang is at an all time low. Dutch gives a speech, asking the gang to keep their faith in him and to make camp for a few days until the storm passes. He assures them that they will survive and be able to outrun the law enforcement tracking them.

He then takes off to go look for John and Micah with Arthur. Arthur questions Dutch on what exactly happened on the boat in Blackwater, but Dutch is not forthcoming with answers. While out searching, they come across Micah, who has found a homestead. The trio travel to the homestead to ask for supplies, but are surprised to discover it being occupied by the O'Driscoll Boys. A gunfight breaks out, which results in the deaths of the occupying O'Driscolls. After looting the ranch, Arthur gets attacked by an O'Driscoll who he easily overpowers. He then interrogates him about where his gang is and what they are doing up in the mountains. He learns that they are planning a train heist using dynamite.

Micah discovers Sadie Adler in the cellar, hiding from the O'Driscolls who murdered her husband and took over her homestead. Mistaking her for an O'Driscoll, a struggle ensues between her and Micah, which causes him to flip a table over with a lantern on it, causing the house to catch on fire. Dutch manages to defuse the situation, and quickly escorts Sadie to safety. He offers to bring her with them back to camp, an offer which she accepts.

The next day, Abigail and several others become concerned that John hasn't returned yet, and urge Arthur and Javier to go out looking for him. Javier is optimistic that they will find him, but Arthur believes that Marston has abandoned the gang again. After scaling the mountain, they come across John badly injured from a wolf attack. Narrowly escaping a second wolf attack, they bring John back to Colter.

Dutch and Hosea begin arguing about their current situation. Hosea is doubtful of Dutch's plan, while Dutch insists that they just need to wait out the storm, go back to Blackwater and collect the money, make even more money, and then head back out west. Hosea points out that they have been heading east, the exact opposite direction, to which Dutch replies with "For now... for now". Dutch also insists that they send someone back to the Adler Ranch to bury Jake Adler, Sadie's late husband.

Arthur and Charles provide the camp with food after a hunting trip, much to the delight of Pearson. A fight breaks out between Micah and Bill, which is interrupted by Dutch, who rallies the gang together to assault an O'Driscoll camp. Arthur objects, reminding Dutch that revenge is a fool's game, but Dutch states that he wants to steal their score, not get revenge, and plans to find out what he can about a train heist the O'Driscolls have planned. They arrive at the camp just as Colm is leaving. After killing everyone in the camp, they find the heist plans and some dynamite.

A few days later, Dutch gathers the able-bodied members of the gang to pull off the train heist, to which Hosea objects, warning that the target of the heist, Leviticus Cornwall, is a dangerous and rich man. Dutch scoffs at this, urging the gang to ride on. Bill is sent ahead to set up the dynamite on the track, and Dutch asks Arthur to assist him. After setting up the detonator, the gang prepares for the train. As it passes over the tracks, the detonator fails, forcing Arthur, Javier, and Lenny to jump on the train. Javier falls off the train, leaving Arthur and Lenny to overpower the guards and stop the train. The rest of the gang catches up, dealing with the remainder of the guards, and forcing them to open up Cornwall's personal train car. Inside, they discover a thousand dollars in bonds. Dutch leaves Arthur to clean up the scene, stating they'll leave when he gets back.

As the snow from the blizzard begins to thaw, the gang travels by caravan to the state of New Hanover. Hosea recommends camping at a location called Horseshoe Overlook. Whilst on the trail, they are watched from afar by members of the Wapiti Indian tribe. When they arrive at the campsite, Dutch gives a speech, imploring everyone to go out and earn money. They devise a cover story, that they are itinerant workers from the north who were laid off from their factory and are now searching for work down south. Miss Grimshaw and her girls begin setting up the camp as everyone begins to settle in.

Horseshoe Overlook Chapter
After a few weeks at Horseshoe Overlook, the gang begins to settle in to their new surroundings. Leopold Strauss loans money to several people, including Chick Matthews, Mr. Wróbel, Lilly Millet, and Thomas Downes. Reverend Swanson becomes drunk at a poker game in Flatneck Station and is narrowly saved by Arthur when he stumbles onto the path of an oncoming train. Tilly, Mary-Beth, and Karen grow bored and restless at camp and convince Uncle and Arthur to take them into Valentine, the local town. While there, Mary-Beth gets a lead on a train full of rich tourists passing through Scarlett Meadows at night. Karen and Tilly attempt to rob drunk men but Tilly is discovered by her old gang member Anthony Foreman, who attempts to kidnap her before Arthur steps in to save her. Arthur then steps into the Saints Hotel to rescue Karen from her drunken attacker. Karen relays that she has found out info about the local bank, with Arthur encouraging her to continue investigating. A citizen named Jimmy Brooks recognizes Arthur, forcing him to chase him towards a cliff. Arthur then decides whether to kill him or let him live.

Bill, Javier, and Charles go to Smithfields, the local saloon in Valentine, where they are joined by Arthur. Bill bumps into another patron, which causes a large bar fight to break out. A large man named Tommy ends up throwing Arthur through the window and out onto the street. A brutal fight ensues which Arthur eventually wins. Before landing the final blow, Arthur is interrupted by Thomas Downes, who begs him to show mercy. Arthur begrudgingly complies and sits down to rest. Dutch finds them in Valentine and reveals that he has found Josiah Trelawny. Josiah reveals that Sean is alive but being held captive by a group of bounty hunters outside Blackwater. Javier and Charles leave with Trelawny to scope out where Sean is while Bill is chastised by Dutch.

During the gang's stay, Micah gets arrested in they logging town of Strawberry while on patrol with Lenny. Dutch realizes he can't go for what happened in Blackwater, so he asks Arthur to go, but before he could, he needed to "calm Lenny's nerves" at the local saloon in Valentine first. This ends either in them both being arrested or passed out in the country side. After his night of debauchery, Arthur sets out to rescue Micah, albeit reluctantly. After Micah decides to shoot up the entire town just for his "precious guns" he and Arthur part ways outside of Strawberry, with Micah refusing to go back to Dutch without a "peace offering". After a few days, Arthur proceeds to accompany Micah on his offer to rob a coach north of Strawberry and while it gets attacked by O'Driscolls. They are successful in the robbery and Micah returns to camp once more.

A few days later, Hosea and Arthur go on a hunting trip in the eastern Ambarino for a "1000 pound" Grizzly bear. After the hunt proves to be too much for the aging Matthews, they either part ways or return to camp together. Not long after, Hosea has a lead at the local Ranch which leads to a stagecoach robbery and a new affiliate, Seamus, who agrees to buy stolen wagons for Arthur. While all these events unfold, Abigail wishes for young Jack to go somewhere outside of the camp, so she asks Arthur to take him fishing. While out fishing, Morgan is approached by Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross, two members of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. They offer Arthur his freedom in exchange for Dutch van der Linde. When Arthur refuses, he suggests leaving camp, but Dutch disagrees, instead suggesting they stay. Arthur is hesitant, but agrees with Dutch.

After such events, John has an idea. Him and Arthur would steal a herd of sheep that was coming into coming into Valentine to be auctioned off. The job proves successful, and they take the herd to Valentine. When the duo attempt to sell the herd, the livestock manager demands 25% off the sale. The price is reduced to 18%, which Arthur gets up set about but brushes off when John and Arthur go to meet Dutch and Leopold Strauss in the local saloon. However, their casual drink goes south when Dutch is confronted by Leviticus Cornwall and takes John and Strauss hostage. A shootout soon follows with Strauss being wounded and the gang having no choice but to shoot their way out and agree to split up. After regrouping back at camp, Dutch knows they can't stay and decides to head South-East. At first, he wants Arthur and Charles to check out an area just over the Lemoyne state line called Dewberry Creek, but less proves to be to open and the gang instead find a small clearing at the edge of Flat Iron Lake, called Clemens Point.

Clemens Point Chapter
A few days after the move down south, Dutch and Arthur plan on going fishing with Hosea. Not long into the journey they come across an arrested Trelawny, whom they eventfully free. After helping the local law with a group of criminals, and their fishing trip, they try to play the locals as deputy Sheriffs after getting the sheriff drunk. After helping the sheriff take care of the Lemoyne Raiders, the gang begin to investigate the feuding families, the Grays and Braithwaites. Arthur takes the Grays while Hosea takes the Braithwaites which leads them to believe that the families are fighting over lost gold and the gang hopes to it.

During his investigation of the Grays, Arthur comes across young Beau Gray who is romantically involved with Penelope Braithwaite which Arthur reluctantly gets involved in to find out more about the gold. After running back and forth for them the end result leads him no further to the gold but with a good standing with Beau and therefor, the Grays as a whole.

After their investigation the gang decides to offload the moonshine they stole right back to the rightful owners, for a price. After surprisingly allowing them to keep it another surprise comes when Catharine Braithwaite tells them to give it away in the Gray controlled town of Rhodes. This sets Hosea with good standing with the Braithwaites while Arthur teams up with John and Javier to steal the Braithwaites prize horses. After the sale comes up to be little over 1/8 of what was promised, Arthur sets sights on destroying the Grays tobacco fields with Sean McGuire. This nets some money, but not as much as promised and is not leading to the gold which is beginning to more made up as they go.

During all of this, Bill of all people plans on robbing the bank in Valentine that he feels was to go good to let go. Reluctantly, Arthur joins and the heist proves to be useful as it nets in a large sum of cash for the camp and it's members. After the bank job, Lenny plans his own job, robbing the Lemoyne Raiders hideout of weapons. This, like the bank job, proves fruitful as he gang now has weapons and explosives to sell and use.

Later on, Arthur and Charles go to see Trelawny about the bounty hunters and "super agents" he spoke of. While investigating his caravan, they deduce he was kidnapped by said bounty hunters and requires rescue. After saving their British friend, they all agree for Trelawny to stay at camp for safety. A few days later, after recovering from his brush with mortality, he sends Arthur to help him rob a stagecoach out past Rhodes. Like other previous heists, this proves to be good as they both walk away with money in their pockets and their new mutual friend, Alden.

Also during their stay, Sadie Adler begins to become angry with Pearson for she refuses to keep chopping vegetables. In response, Arthur takes her into town and after telling her what not to do, they leave with Sadie gaining a new outfit. On their way home they get ambushed by the Lemoyne Raiders. After Sadie instigates the situation further and starts a shootout with them, they kill them all and return to camp with the food.

During their tenure in Scarlet Meadows, Pearson says that he ran into some O'Driscoll's in town and tells the gang they wish to "parley". Fearing it to be an obvious trap, Micah and Dutch confront Colm in The Heartlands while Arthur watches over them with a rifle. However the whole thing dose prove to be a trap but for Arthur and not Dutch. They plan on holding Arthur until Dutch comes and then they turn him in and run away from the law. The plan does not come to fruition as Arthur, even while injured, manages to escape. He is then put on bed rest for a few weeks before going back out into the world.

After everything that has happened, Arthur meets Bill, Sean and Micah in Rhodes to talk to the Grays about a protection job. The job is actually bait for when the gang stop in town, Sean is killed immediately and the entire town erupts in gunfire. After killing all the lawmen, only one remains. Sheriff Gray. Gray has taken Bill hostage and tells the gang they will all perish before dying himself in a duel with Arthur. They then proceed to bury Sean outside of camp with Arthur saying "he was like an annoying little brother".

After returning to camp, Morgan is informed by Dutch that Jack has gone missing and was taken by Braithwaites. The main members of the gang, Dutch, Arthur, Javier, Bill, Lenny, Hosea and of course the boy's father, John march to Braithwaite Manor in the night. This leads to an epic and bloody showdown with the Van der Linde gang vs the entire Braithwaite family (sans Penelope) which ends with the Van der Linde gang victorious. After killing her sons and nephews, the gang confront the matriarch herself, Catharine Braithwaite. In retaliation for Jack's capture, the gang ultimately burns the mansion to the ground and leave Catharine to die with her house after she tells them that her sons sold him to Angelo Bronte in Saint Denis.

Saint Denis Chapter
The morning after the Battle for Braithwaite Manor, The gang think on what to do on how to get Jack back when, seemingly out of no where, Pinkerton agents Milton and Ross show up and demand Dutch turn himself and in exchange, allow every member to flee and not be hunted. The gang obviously refuse and realize that with the shootout's in Rhodes and now this, that they need to move, and fast. Arthur tells Dutch that he knows a place deep in the bayou called, Shady Bell. After clearing out the former "tenants", Dutch tasks Arthur with searching Saint Denis in hopes of finding Bronte.

After finding his home, Dutch, Arthur and John walk in and demand that Bronte hand over Jack. He eventfully follows through on this after having John and Arthur clear the local cemetery of robbers. During this, Dutch receives an invitation to the mayor's party. Upon his return the gang celebrate and party over Jack's return and their new home.

Not long after the move, Tilly is captured by the Foreman Brothers south of Rhodes, forcing Arthur and Susan Grimshaw to rescue her. During this rescue another is missed as Kieran is captured by the O'Driscoll gang and is tortured by them for days, presumably. Following the rescue of Tilly, Arthur is taken by Dutch and Hosea to the Mayor's house with Bill to find out any information they can find. After the party proves fruitful, Arthur is given several leads including info about a riverboat heist and to help Evelyn Miller with the Natives.

Arthur later on meets with Trelawny in Saint Denis where they get Arthur a suit and proper haircut to rob the river boat. After the heist proves fruitful and Morgan eventfully helps Miller with the Natives, by invading Cornwall Kerosene & Tar with Eagle Flies he meets with Dutch to rob the trolley station, but their planning is cut short when a headless Keirin comes into camp on horseback. Following this, a large gun battle ensues between the Van der Linde gang and the O'Driscoll's with the former shining victorious. This event is what eventually pushes Dutch to rob the station, and fast. Later on, in Saint Denis, Dutch, Lenny and Arthur rob the station, which ends up sour for as Bronte lied and the station had little to no money. After an escape that ended with crashing a trolley car and Dutch banging his head badly, they now set their sights on Bronte and plan to rob the bank in Saint Denis.

After meeting with a local fisherman, Thomas in Lagras, Dutch takes Arthur with him to make deal for Thomas to float them to the dock behind Bronte's mansion. After helping Thomas and his friend Jules with a gator problem, they are ready to hit Bronte for the trolley and to hit the bank. The following evening, the gang prepare for the raid on the Bronte Estate. After clearing all his hired guns and body guards they find him, hiding in a bath tub. After shooting their way out and back to the boat, Dutch grows angry with Bronte after the latter insults him and calls his men fools for not taking his money. After enough belittlement, Dutch snaps and drowns Bronte and proceeds to throw him overboard in the path of an alligator. After such a, traumatic event to say the least, John angerly asks Dutch what part of his books talk about feeding someone to an alligator. Dutch brushes off the event as "something that needed to be done" and "it is either us, or him". After this and Arthur now scarred they move on with the bank heist.

Now with Bronte out of the picture and the gang ready to leave, they wait until morning and hit it. However the robbery goes south when Pinkerton Agents grab Hosea and Abigail and hold them hostage while having the whole bank surrounded. Abigail manages to slip away while Hosea is shot dead in the muddy streets of Saint Denis with Dutch and the gang watching in horror. After blowing a hole in the wall, and escaping to the roof John is arrested and Lenny is killed by Pinkertons. After finding shelter in an apartment, the gang devises a plan to wait until nightfall and sneak aboard a boat. This actually turns into a good plan as all surviving members, save for Charles who snuck away to cause a diversion so the rest of the gang can sneak aboard a boat.

After boarding they cut a deal with the captain to have them go to northern Cuba and then Argentina and around the cape to Tahiti. These plans do not come to fruition as a storm sinks the ship and causes everyone to run for safety with the Van der Linde gang landing on the island of Guarma.

Guarma Chapter
TBA

Beaver Hollow Chapter
TBA

Epilogue
After the events of Beaver Hollow, the gang is disbanded, with several of surviving gang members going off on their separate ways:
 * Micah goes off to form his own gang, taking Cleet and Joe with him. In 1907, he is eventually tracked down by Marston, Sadie, Charles and with the help of Dutch is murdered in retaliation for his betrayal years prior.
 * By 1907 Sadie becomes a bounty hunter and shotgun messenger. After getting vengeance on Micah, she expresses a desire to leave the country. After attending John and Abigail's wedding she presumably leaves western America.
 * Charles assists the Wapiti tribe in moving to Canada, then goes on to become a street fighter in Saint Denis. After helping John and Sadie murder Micah. He mentions wanting to move to Canada to start a family. After attending John and Abigail's wedding, he presumably leaves the western states to go start a family.
 * John and his family move to the Yukon in search of gold. They return to New Hanover in 1907, and eventually settle down as ranchers in the Great Plains region, after John purchases Beecher's Hope on loan and him, Charles and Uncle build a new homestead.
 * Mary-Beth becomes a well known romance author.
 * Tilly marries a lawyer in Saint Denis and has a child with him.
 * Karen's whereabouts are unknown, but Tilly speculates that Karen drank herself to death.
 * Trelawny lives happily with his family in Saint Denis.
 * Javier travels back to Mexico and is reported to be living in the mountain region there circa 1907. He eventually becomes a mercenary and by 1911, he is working as a hitman for the governor of Nuevo Paraiso Colonel Agustin Allende.
 * Bill Williamson forms his own gang, becoming the de facto outlaw gang of the Rio Bravo region of New Austin by 1911.
 * Reverend Swanson leads a large congregation in New York.
 * Pearson moves to Rhodes and takes over the general store, becoming married in the process.
 * Dutch's activities and whereabouts become shrouded in mystery and rumors. Some sources claim that he died, but several sightings of him alive and well throughout the years dispute this. One story claimed that Dutch died in a fire following a bungled robbery in 1906, but he was then spotted a year later in Tall Trees. Dutch would resurface briefly in 1907 to kill Micah Bell only to vanish once more.

Events of Red Dead Redemption
In 1911, John was forced by Bureau of Investigation agents, Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham, into hunting down the last known survivors of the Van der Linde gang at the time. Acting on a tip from a Bureau informant in the area, John confronted Bill Williamson directly at Fort Mercer in New Austin, but was once again shot and left for dead by one of his lieutenants. Rescued by local rancher Bonnie MacFarlane, John later assembled a ragtag group of lawmen and other characters to penetrate the fort, but Williamson managed to escape in the climactic shootout and fled across the border to Nuevo Paraíso.

Following the trail, Marston found himself embroiled in the chaotic Mexican Revolution of 1911, assisting with numerous military operations for the provincial military government in order to coerce Colonel Allende into helping find Williamson and Escuella, the latter of whom was revealed to be in the area shortly after John arrived. After his betrayal and near-execution by Allende's enforcer Vincente de Santa, John discovers that both outlaws had been given shelter by Allende before he arrived, and so began working with rebel leader Abraham Reyes to bring Williamson and Escuella out of hiding by toppling the local government. Marston joins up with Reyes' rebel army in a raid on El Presidio where Escuella is taken down and delivered to the Bureau. In a subsequent assault on the colonel's palace in Escalera, Williamson and Allende are both cornered and killed.

Upon delivering Javier Escuella to Bureau agents Ross and Fordham, John learns that Dutch van der Linde had survived his original gang's dissolution and resurfaced in West Elizabeth with an army of disgruntled young natives. After lengthy preparation and numerous close encounters with Dutch himself, Marston leads an assault on Dutch's hideout of Cochinay in Tall Trees with the help of the Bureau and US Army. In the climactic final confrontation, a mortally wounded Dutch throws himself from the mountain cliffs, putting an end to his decades-long crime spree.

Some time after Dutch's death, John Marston and Uncle are killed by a joint Bureau-Army attack on the Marston ranch.

Associates

 * Jack Marston - child of John and Abigail, raised by the gang
 * Copper - former camp dog owned by Arthur
 * Cain - the camp dog, discovered by Jack at Clemens Point
 * Seamus - fence met by Arthur and Hosea
 * Alden Carruthers - crooked ticketmaster at Rhodes Post Office, who gives Arthur tips on stagecoaches worth robbing.
 * Leigh Gray and Archibald MacGregor - lawmen of Rhodes (unwittingly; c. May 1899)
 * Tavish Gray - patriarch of the Gray Family of Rhodes (c. May 1899)
 * Catherine Braithwaite - matriarch of the Braithwaite Family of Rhodes (c. May 1899)
 * Angelo Bronte - crime lord of Saint Denis (c. June 1899)
 * Thomas - boatman in Lagras (c. June 1899)
 * Hercule Fontaine and Leon Fuentes - rebel leaders in Guarma (c. June 1899)
 * Eagle Flies - son of Wapiti Chief Rains Fall (c. June 1899)

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