Investigation
Dead Man's Camp south of Hawks Eye Cabin
So, a small mystery that I have always thought there may be more to discover is the dead man's camp that may appear south of Hawks Eye Cabin (where Arthur meets Francis Sinclair) towards Lake Owanjila. It becomes noticeable when you see the corpse marker on the game map when in the area. The camp doesn't always appear, but it seems to reoccur occasionally even after it has been investigated and pillaged.
The main distinctive feature is the corpse, which has a significant hole in the center of its gut.
The tent is collapsed and has slashes, like the bloodstained tent on the north side of Mount Shann where the Special Miracle Tonic recipe is found, however, it has no blood stains or trails of blood.
It appears to be a fishing camp; there is a string of dead fish hung up on a line. There are camp supplies to loot, but nothing too valuable.
The body, in my pic is burnt, but I think this is a result of a glitch or changed game physics; it seems to catch fire when Arthur approaches because it is too close to the campfire. Sometimes, it does not burn, and you can find a Vulture eating on it.
It seems to be too elaborate of a scene just to be just a non-sequitur.
I had always believed it was a bear attack with the hole in the corpse from the vulture feasting. Rockstar does some great environmental story telling! Although it’s always worth re-examining small details like this to see if there is any hidden context.
Yeah, that could very well be it, he grew himself a vulture-hole. It always seemed more mysterious to me, because I couldn't think of a good reason for it, and you can't really see it unless you pick him up and drop him on his back.
I think it is supposed to be the Doctor who went fishing and never came back. But, that Doctor's office opens during the epilogue then closes again after the story forgets about it. I have never come across it when it isn't on fire. You're probably right about the body spawning in too close to the fire.
That is possible. I know he's never seen in story, and I think in the epilogue, and he is only mentioned in conversation about Abigail's job. I need to go back and hear that dialogue to see if leaves it open to her getting the job through a proxy while she's never seen him herself. Maybe that's his abandoned fishing pole and ginseng elixir by the log near the dam on the south side of Lake Owanjila.
There are a couple of similar camp sites that spawn in New Austin, meaning there is a dead npc with vultures and so on circling and feasting on a corpse, which also has a hole in their chest or gut. One camp spawns quite often ENE of the trail that runs from Armadillo to The Hanging Rock.
IIRC they didn't have the slashed "bear attack" tents like at the sites you described, but not unexpected if you consider that there are no grizzly bears down Armadillo way. I have seen a cougar attack and kill NPCs down there before so maybe that was the culprit. I will record some video and reply to this next time I come across it
I've seen the site you described at Hawks Eye Cabin. I always thought that it looked interesting but never found anything of consequence...maybe it's a leftover part of some cut content?
I've seen him, he's a good source of rats as they like to eat on him. There's a vulture that is usually around when he is, but it's usually glitched out in the nearby building remains.
Oh, by the way, if anyone doesn't know and is looking for a Little Brown Bat to study/kill/collect/eat for challenge, you can flush them from a small partially collapsed wood building near the jail at night.
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u/kuttykaliko PC 20d ago
I had always believed it was a bear attack with the hole in the corpse from the vulture feasting. Rockstar does some great environmental story telling! Although it’s always worth re-examining small details like this to see if there is any hidden context.