I believe that pinning down how many bags there were is a crucial piece of the puzzle. If there was but one, where did the fishermen find it? in their camp, in Herdman's camp, or along the trail where the foot prints were found? It has implications for when Herdman actually met his demise. I think that it's most likely that he died the first night, but finding his bag (which Byers had left in camp) along a trail with presumably his footprints, would be a strong indicator otherwise - he would have to have returned to camp some time after Byers' departure to retrieve the bag and carry it along. Since Byers claims he searched for two days, then in that case Herdman would have to have survived two days beyond the first night - why would it take him so long to get back to camp? 5 or 6 miles is not enough space to get lost in in the woods, especially considering he knew the paths he took, and could retrace them. Remember, this was in mountainous terrain, so one cannot just wander in any direction - "natural lines of drift" are followed, meaning ridges, valleys, and waterways. That seriously restricts the directions one can travel in, and reduces the chances of getting lost.
If, on the other hand, he died the first night as seems more likely, then WHO moved the bag from camp to the footprint site, and why? Obviously not Byers, as he's the one who left the bag in camp for Herdman. That leaves the fishermen and the trackers. Why would they move the pack from camp? And perhaps more importantly, why did they suddenly abandon it at the track site? Why carry it any distance just to dump it?
One plausible theory would be that the fishermen, for whatever reason, abandoned their fishing trip and went looking for Herdman in a wilderness area where they had no idea where he might be found, and found the bag at it's deposit site. There's also the possibility that THEY carried it from the camp and dumped it there, only to report "oh, we found his bag", but it makes no sense to me that they would just dump it there to report a "find" - they would be more likely to either leave it in camp or carry it on to whomever they reported the find to.
If it was neither the fishermen, Byers, nor the trackers who moved it (assuming they were the same bag), then that indicates the presence of someone else in the area, someone who wanted to make it look like Herdman survived long enough to move it. The only logical reason for that is that they wanted to cover their OWN tracks - I'm sure you can follow that chain of reasoning to it's logical conclusion.
That's why it's important to find out how the trackers determined the tracks near the pack actually WERE Herdman's tracks - they may not have been. The only other possibilities are the fishermen, Byers, or... the hypotheical fourth party with ulterior motives to move the pack.
If, on the other hand, he died the first night as seems more likely, then WHO moved the bag from camp to the footprint site, and why? Obviously not Byers, as he's the one who left the bag in camp for Herdman. That leaves the fishermen and the trackers. Why would they move the pack from camp? And perhaps more importantly, why did they suddenly abandon it at the track site? Why carry it any distance just to dump it?
One plausible theory would be that the fishermen, for whatever reason, abandoned their fishing trip and went looking for Herdman in a wilderness area where they had no idea where he might be found, and found the bag at it's deposit site. There's also the possibility that THEY carried it from the camp and dumped it there, only to report "oh, we found his bag", but it makes no sense to me that they would just dump it there to report a "find" - they would be more likely to either leave it in camp or carry it on to whomever they reported the find to.
If it was neither the fishermen, Byers, nor the trackers who moved it (assuming they were the same bag), then that indicates the presence of someone else in the area, someone who wanted to make it look like Herdman survived long enough to move it. The only logical reason for that is that they wanted to cover their OWN tracks - I'm sure you can follow that chain of reasoning to it's logical conclusion.
That's why it's important to find out how the trackers determined the tracks near the pack actually WERE Herdman's tracks - they may not have been. The only other possibilities are the fishermen, Byers, or... the hypotheical fourth party with ulterior motives to move the pack.
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’