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For tumbleweeds (dried up plants), see Atmosphere

Tumbleweed is a location featured in Red Dead Redemption in the Gaptooth Ridge region of the New Austin territory.

Background

Red Dead Redemption

It is a ghost town and outlaw hideout. In its prime, it was a large settlement comparable in size to Armadillo. Once the railroads came, and built around Tumbleweed, the town died off, and most of the residents left.

The Leigh Johnson mission "Hanging Bonnie MacFarlane" ends at this location. The Seth Briars mission "A Gentle Drive with Friends" ends here and leads directly to the mission "Let the Dead Bury Their Dead" which takes place entirely in this location.

A portion of the Stranger side-mission "Who Are You to Judge?" takes place in this location.

Outlaws to the End

And a sizable battle with Walton's Gang occurs here in the Outlaws to the End Co-op mission "The Escape".

Undead Nightmare

During the Undead Nightmare, Tumbleweed has one of 3 New Austin cemeteries that will need to be cleaned of the Undead to complete the mission "Get Back in That Hole, Partner".

It does not need to be saved from undead, as it is one of the few Gang hideouts which are abandoned.

Buildings

Tumbleweed has several buildings all in various states of disrepair.

Church

Rdr tumbleweed church

Located on the far east side of the town, the small church in Tumbleweed is white clapboard with a small steeple. It is all one room and has only eight pews with a pulpit at the front. Despite a few holes around the building, it may be the most well preserved structure in Tumbleweed. Also, inside there are words written on the pulpit that read, "The devil has got into that beast." Outside, there is a small shed and a small cemetery. Oddly enough, some of the headstones look new, while others have long since faded. The entire property is enclosed by a stone and wrought iron fence. In the northwest corner of the graveyard is a slightly crumbled grave marker of a lady named "Elenora Riddick", if you throw a fire bottle at this grave it opens, revealing what appears to be an empty coffin. This is the grave that Seth was searching on his last mission.

General Store & Assay Office

Rdr tumbleweed geenral store assay office

The General Store is located on the east side of Tumbleweed, and is made of wood reinforced stucco. Inside are three barrels, a counter, a small shelf, and a cash register. Remnants of curtains flap in the wind.

An assay office is an institution set up to assess the purity of minerals. This suggests Tumbleweed was a mining town, possibly servicing Gaptooth Breach before it went bust. A further hint that Tumbleweed was a mining town is mentioned by Marshal Johnson in the mission "Hanging Bonnie MacFarlane". The assay office in Tumbleweed was owned by the Spickin Mining Company. Inside the office is a desk, shelf, counter, cash register, and brick kiln. It is located directly north of the General Store.

Saloon

Rdr tumbleweed saloon

A typical western saloon. The Tumbleweed saloon is the northernmost structure in Tumbleweed. It contains an old bar littered with empty and broken liquor bottles, a piano, the remnants of various mounted animals, a wagon wheel chandelier, and an office upstairs. Curiously, the clock on the wall is still functioning despite age and neglect. In Free Roam there is a Bolt Action Rifle located in the office.

Sheriff's Office & Jail

Rdr tumbleweed sheriff's office jail

A large, one room sheriff's office. All that remains is one desk, and 3 chairs. It is on the west side of town. Next to it, a derelict brick jail, separated into three rooms, with the rusted remains of one jail cell. It can be found at the northwest side of town, to the west of the Saloon.

Residences

Rdr tumbleweed residences

On the south side of the town, there are three unmarked buildings in a row that were probably apartments and/or houses. They all contain at least two beds and several moonshine bottles.

Barn

Rdr tumbleweed barn

The southernmost structure in Tumbleweed, this barn was meant for keeping horses. The area is littered with junk like anvils, spittoons, and wagon wheels. Sometimes, tamed nags (old horses) will spawn in the corral.

Mansion

Rdr tumbleweed mansion

The mansion is by far the largest structure in Tumbleweed. It is situated on a ridge at the westernmost part of Tumbleweed. The grounds around the mansion host a small stable, a gazebo, abandoned wagons, and various garbage. The wooden mansion was built on a brick foundation, with a cellar. It is one of a few buildings in the game that has a cellar. In the mansion there have been many ghost sightings and some sounds. These can't be the gang as you'll hear the noises even while they're all dead.

Cellar

The cellar is walled in brick, with three unevenly sized brick support posts, and a wood wall creating a horseshoe configuration. The floor is dirt. There are various containers, boxes and chairs, as well as a casket, and a mattress. The floor is littered with garbage. A bull's skull marks the location of Calhoun's Gold.

First Floor

The first floor contains the front room, storeroom, and kitchen. In the front room, there is a piano, two overturned sofas, a wooden crate, a large fireplace, and a fully functional grandfather clock. The floor is littered with garbage and ceiling panels. The kitchen contains a stove, long table, and several broken chairs. The storeroom has a desk with some pots on it, some barrels, and a broken shelf.

Second Floor

The second floor is where all the bedrooms are located. There are two bedrooms. They each have their own bedroom space as well as an adjoining sitting room. The bedrooms are populated with various bedroom furniture such as beds, chairs, desks, armoires, nightstands, etc. There is a bedroom with a bed and a surprisingly intact chair.

Use as a gang hideout

Tumbleweed has a history of being used as a gang hideout. It plays host to several bands of gangs and unaffiliated criminals. In Single player, the protagonist can help a sheriff named Claude Banfield, to clear the town of criminals.

Tumbleweed as a ghost town

Several characters and events throughout the game vaguely hint to Tumbleweed being haunted by ghosts. This could be simply for atmosphere or some other effect; however, due to the large quantity of similar rumors concerning other Rockstar games (GTA: San Andreas, GTA IV, etc.), it is not implausible to consider that Rockstar has inserted Easter Eggs into Red Dead Redemption.

Rumors

  • When the player enters the main room in the mansion, the animal skull can be seen hanging from the wall (the same skull from odd fellows rest). It can be shot down but when you arrive a while late in the room, it is hung back up.
  • When the camera angle changes or a player walks from room to room in the mansion, the lights often flicker.
  • All of the "dirt mounds" of the graves in the churchyard are targetable in Dead Eye, although only Elenora Riddick's has so far been found to be destructible, albeit empty.
  • A large number of bats can be seen flying out of the mansion at around 6:05 P.M. then return at 6:00 A.M. These bats can't be killed or even shot. They can also be found in Thieves Landing and possibly in some other locations.
  • The walls on the 1st and 2nd floor of the Mansion change color randomly and slowly.
  • All day, a dog can be heard barking but no dog is seen. If the player follows the barking of the dog they will find the source of the barking is the cemetery.
    • There is a coyote on the hill across the road from the church—the hill with a windmill on top of it. With some patience, it is possible to get to the top of the hill and find the coyote. This is NOT the cause of the Hellish dog barking - as mentioned before it is traced to the cemetery, not the hill. Kill the coyote and you'll still hear the demonic barking.
    • There are horses in a barn when you first arrive there. The next day they may be gone. When they are gone and you travel up to the windmill, you will find a very skinny horse, looks to be near death. This horse has bad stamina and is very slow. This is all that remains of those horses.
  • The sound of footsteps and people talking is due to the fact that there are people inside the mansion in the first floor. However, it is impossible for the player to enter the room where they are without triggering an execution animation, which allows the player to glitch through the locked door. This may be due to the player not triggering the hideout or the conditions that release the code locking the doors to the enemies in the mansion. This could be the cause that some players have heard footsteps and people talking. A variety of NPC's consistently mill around and greet each other in the locked room; this is confirmed and the video can be seen here . (evidence begins at 8:25)
  • After killing the lights in some buildings, exiting the building will make the building appear like it is lit up again, while entering will immediately darken the building. However this works with any building in the game.
  • At a unknown time of day, footprints appear on the stairs to the cellar in the mansion. if the game is paused, they can clearly be seen.
  • Footsteps and bodiless voices yelling at you to "watch where you're going" may be found in the Tumbleweed Mansion's cellar during the Treasure Hunter Challenges if you haven't alerted the criminals in Tumbleweed.
  • Rabbits can be found sitting in some of the rooms of the mansion and won't move if the player goes toward them. They can still be killed and skinned.
  • On the second floor of the Saloon, one curtain is being blown by the wind while the other curtain remains perfectly still.
  • On the first floor of the saloon, a lantern in the corner is floating but you can still destroy it.
  • In the middle window of one side of the church in the bottom right frame appears to be a Satanic looking face. It is hard to make out at first, but is definitely there if one gets the view right. Whether this is a common window texture that coincidentally appears like this or not is currently unknown.
  • He, again, appears on the window closest to Lincoln Crenshaw's gravestone. Can only be seen through a scope.
  • As well, there are rumors about The Devil appearing in the church. There are many theories on how to make him appear, ranging from staying in/near the church for extensive amounts of time, to waiting till a certain time of day, to "hitting" the altar (with a fire bottle usually). These are unconfirmed, at least for the PS3.
  • On the PS3, if standing near the broken windmill, when the camera angle changes, the devilish face can be spotted in the side windows, looking up at the hill where the player is standing, after a while it just disappears in the window, but it is hard to find movement. it can be only seen through a scope.
  • In the white bunker house, at night on multiplayer, a white ghoulish figure can be seen in the top window. some gameplay suggests that it is watching the player. When you enter that room upstairs, there is nothing there except a floating lamp.
  • At 4:03 in the cellar a faint "How do you do?" can be heard. This is proven on many YouTube videos.
  • Around 8:00PM on Saturday (game time) in the cellar, a supernatural, eerie "ghost light" can be found flashing, glowing a whitish-green color. It's more noticeable when the doors are closed.
  • The saloon's clock works. Given the neglect of Tumbleweed, this barely seems possible.
  • Another rumor in Multiplayer that you could see a ghost in the basement or cellar, this remains a cold hard mystery if you could see the ghost in Tumbleweed.
  • When standing right next to or behind the alter in the church, if you shoot the front door open, then slowly swing the camera around you in a set of 2 full 360 rotations (one after another), when you come back to facing the church door after the second full rotation, it will have closed by itself.
  • When standing in the main entrance to the mansion on the far side of tumbleweed, if you change the camera angle slightly sideways, a full white figure walks past. sometimes it just strolls past but other times it moves with its head back and its arms waving like a zombie.
  • Random eerie flikering lights turn on in the abandoned bunker houses and in some rooms in the mansion, this may also be seen in the church.
  • If you turn up the volume very loud. Footsteps can be heard in the mansion. However this may just be the curtains at the top windows of the mansion that are sometimes blowing about.
  • It's considered that if the Dark horse is hitched outside the church the "weird-o-meter" kicks up and it's easier to see "ghosts" or other strange and unusual things in its presence.

In the News

This text appears in one of the newspaper about Tumbleweed, revealing what the citizens think about the Ghost Town:

TUMBLEWEED HAUNTED?
Following recent reports of ghost sightings in the abandoned town of Tumbleweed, visitors are continuing to tell of unnatural happenings and strange feelings. Some visitors claim to have seen spirits of the dead. Others ghosts, still others, ghouls and fairies. Our reporter on the scene found no evidence but we urge readers to send us reports of any unnatural happenings in the area.

MORE GHOSTS TAKE UP RESIDENCE AT TUMBLEWEED
The town of Tumbleweed, long believed by local residents to be possessed by evil spirits has claimed the lives of dozens more men. The area was found strewn with dead bodies and weapons leading the more educated and rationally minded amongst us to conclude that this is the work of mortal rather than unearthly beings. Rumors of riches hidden in Tumbleweeds abandoned mansion may have been the catalyst for the altercation, but for the moment it remains a mystery.

Multiplayer

Bugs

  • Occasionally, enemies in multiplayer will be stuck inside the large rock near the church, resulting in seeing only their arms and the barrel of their gun. You will be unable to shoot them if this happens, though on rare occasions a close-up shotgun blast will do the trick. Dynamite works for this problem; throwing it in the direct vicinity of the trapped enemy will often work. Leaving the area and returning is the only way to correct this issue if unable to kill the entrapped enemy.

Trivia

  • In the church the words; "the devil has got into that beast" are scrawled on the top of the pulpit. This is possibly referring to the Dark Horse, or the extremely eerie dog barking.
  • The reports of strange noises being heard in Tumbleweed by players as well as the reception the claim has received is reminiscent to the 'Sprunk Factory' in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV as well as the many urban legends surrounding the countryside in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
  • A glitch can occur when attempting to complete the Tumbleweed gang hideout during Multiplayer. When killing the outlaws near the church, a criminal can spawn inside of a large rock. He retains the ability to shoot out of the rock, but the player cannot kill him with guns but throwing dynamite at the rock will kill him.
  • The name of the town might be a reference to the 1968 Clint Eastwood western film Hang 'Em High. This is possible because in the film, a wagon full of criminals is called the "Tumbleweed Wagon" and the town of Tumbleweed is full of criminals
  • The third treasure in the Treasure Hunter Challenges is located in the mansions basement underneath a cow skull in Tumbleweed.
  • Tumbleweed resembles Tarnation of Red Dead Revolver, both being ghost towns that are overrun with criminals and gangs.
  • Many NPC's travel trough the road across the Mansion, They are not attacked however by any gangmembers.. They don't attack John either because if you travel the road, and you don't attack any gangmembers. They will not fight back. However in Multiplayer the gangmembers will attack the player if they go through Tumbleweed.
  • In Undead Nightmare Tumbleweed's graveyard must be cleansed. Among the people buried there who rise from the dead is Jimmy Saint.
  • It is possible to get the Winchester Repeater immedietly after the second mission; Just fast travel to Tumbleweed and clear it to receive a Winchester Repeater (The lawman must be kept alive in order to receive the weapon).
  • The Undead have a large presence in Tumbleweed, even after you clear the graveyard. Usually 1-2 can be found in each residence, and more are shambling around the town. They also spawn in hordes outside of the Mansion. Inside the mansion there are several undead, wait and the undead will wander out of the rooms and attack Marston, if entered as undead Marston, the undead can be seen seen standing motionless until provoked.
  • Out of all building's in Tumbleweed only the mansion has the eerie creaking sounds.

Marked Graves

Butch Somers

1876-1900

Rustler hanged by his own rope.

Hattie Tanner

In loving memory of Hattie Tanner.

Died March 16, 1898

Taken too soon.

Amelia Eaves

Died July 8, 1849 of Cholera.

Died 25 years ago.

Obediah Graves

Here lies Obediah Graves

1867-1886

Hanged for a crime he didn't commit.

Grace Blankenship

Here lies Grace Blankenship

Died May 15th 1907

Survived by loving husband Jeb.

Houston Greenup

1872-1905

Not as fast as he thought he was.

Unknown person

took her own life on September 8th 1906.

Herbert Forth

1858-1901

Loving father of Moses.

This is one grave he cannot rob.

Truman Briggs

25th of August 1892.

Loved by his mistress.

Murdered by his wife.

Isabel Feaney

Here lies Isabel Feaney of Ridgewood Farm.

Elenora Riddick

Died on June 27th 1882

Aged 25 years.

To live in the hearts of others is not to die.

Unknown person

1852-1881

So drunk he did not remember dying.

Lincoln Crenshaw

April 29th 1904

A life long sinner. All dressed up and now he's here.

Gallery

Trophies/Achievements

Red Dead Redemption

Completing the Tumbleweed hideout is associated with these gameplay achievements:

Evilspirits1
25 gamerscoregamerscore
Silver silversilver
Complete Tumbleweed and Tesoro Azul hideouts in singleplayer.

Slowonthedraw
10 gamerscoregamerscore
Bronze bronzebronze
Get 10 assists in a single hideout in a public Free Roam session.

Havegunwilltravel
20 gamerscoregamerscore
Silver silversilver
Complete all hideouts in single public Free Roam session.

Onthetrail
10 gamerscoregamerscore
Bronze bronzebronze
Uncover every location on the map in Single Player.

Redeemed
100 gamerscoregamerscore
Gold goldgold
Attain 100% List in the singleplayer game completion list.

Undead Nightmare

Cleansing the cemetery at this location contributes toward the following Achievements/Trophies:

Rdr judge a man
30 gamerscoregamerscore
Bronze bronzebronze

Rdr zed's dead baby
40 gamerscoregamerscore
Silver silversilver
Attain 100% Game Completion statistic in Undead Nightmare.


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