I think I have figured this movie out

The stranger is the devil himself and the towns people are being punished for their sins. That's why he rapes the girl and paints the town red. He is not a nice man or a good guy. You are not supposed to root for him or like what he did. He is not a Hero righting a wrong. He is the Devil. The town painted in Red means Welcome to Hell!

I noticed the threads on this board where people think that he's the devil, but I tend to lean more towards the idea that he's the ghost of the murdered Jim Duncan. I didn't really interpret the film as though we're supposed to "root for him," although there wasn't really anyone in the town to root for either.

The townspeople were basically thieves and scumbags. They were stealing by illegally mining on government property. When Duncan found out and was going to report it, they murdered him to cover up their crime. Their mistreatment of the Indians and Mexicans was also rubbing salt in the wound, since their land was also stolen.

Except for Mordecai, the innkeeper's wife, and maybe a few others - none of the townspeople had any redeeming qualities whatsoever. However bad the Stranger might have been, the townspeople were much worse and did not deserve the slightest bit of sympathy.

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If you see the final scene when the guy asks him "What is your name?" Clint says "You know" and then the ghost music starts and we see the name on the grave stone. Then the ghost music continues and he fades into the mirage. I think it was meant to suggest he is the ghost of the Marshal. This is dumb.

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