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Yes, he's there "in spirit." Also, since he represents both the historical mountain man as well as modern "back to the wilderness" feelings, as long as we honor the mountain men and their mountains, he's still "alive."
sharethey were alluding to the fact that either:
A - he didn't have to fight "paints his shirt red" & the salute of sorts was a truce
Or
B - the final battle was with "paints his shirt red" because he had killed all the rest so "paints his shirt red" finally had to go himself to end it & Johnson won....but no one really knows....mysterious ending fade to black.