So I saw this post a few days ago, and it got me thinking about those who ended up in the Madre before the Courier arrived - what kind of people they were, how they responded to the dangers around them, how they died, what we might be able to guess about their lives based on what they left behind. The primary means of doing that is examining the graffiti, all of which is written in the same five sets of handwriting. I've sorted them based on who I believe wrote them and have tried to reassemble who these people might've been based on what they stopped to write on the walls.
Artist #1: the guy who really, really doesn't want to be here
This guy, who writes in all-caps with thick, frantic brushstrokes of dark red or black, is by far the most prolific graffiti artist in the Madre - there are multiple other pieces of graffiti he's left that I haven't included in this image. The first one you're likely to encounter is the crossed-out "ESCAPE" that's written on the boarded-up gate back to the wasteland which, along with the rest of the graffiti, indicates that despite wanting nothing more than to leave, he was trapped here against his will, probably as one of Dog's former victims. It doesn't take him long to figure out that leaving means death, and it seems he spent part of his remaining time scrawling fatalistic messages on the walls.
Interestingly, despite his understandable fear at being trapped in a place that wants to kill him, he's also eager to help you. Most of the black directional arrows that point to traps or danger are written in with the same bold, repeated lines that characterize his handwriting. In Salida Del Sol North, he's written "RUN RUN RUN" on the walls multiple times; these signs can help you navigate, since he's only written them along the path back to the Villa. No matter how scared he was, he stopped to identify the dangers and warn off anyone who might be unlucky enough to follow him. The last message, too, is a departure from the rest, and reads almost like a prayer: "CASINO LIGHTS / CARRY ME HOME."
Artist #2: the greedy asshole
This guy is possibly the least helpful of all the guys. He apparently entered as part of a team with agreed-upon shares of whatever treasure they might find, and is a crystal-clear example of the whole "selfishness will be your downfall!" moral that the DLC returns to again and again. All he ever does is reiterate the idea that the Madre's riches belong to him, and many of his signs are located near traps, presumably left for the people who accompanied him. It's ironic that his need to broadcast his intentions makes his traps less effective; his signs might've been meant as boasts or gloating, but they double as warnings that he's left a nasty present for you somewhere in the area.
This person has drawn only three pieces of unique graffiti. The Lover's Mark is obviously used to designate their stash locations, but they also leave two others behind. The first is this:
They've obviously left their <heart emoji> in the Sierra Madre, if by <heart emoji> they mean their stashes, but maybe they've left an actual person as well. Maybe the stashes were originally intended for someone else, but after that person died, they had a whole lot of supplies and no second party to use them.
The second unique piece of graffiti is a white arrow in the same ink and the same style, similar to the arrow they draw through all of their read hearts. You can find it pointing to some bear traps in the switching station close to a body that contains this note, titled "See you in hell asshole":
Hope you're about dead when you read this Sierra Madre out of reach
Could've had it all, followed that white-arrow-graffiti bastard down here
Left those beartraps as presents for you on trail hope you like them shithead
Hit my own tripwire you came to take what's mine??? Too bad, I got the last laugh
Speakers'll kill you before you get out then we'll settle things in hell
Sierra Madre's treasures's mine mine mine
This note, based on the tone and language, is probably from the asshole, who apparently showed up after the lover, found the path they indicated, and left beartraps intended for one of his former comrades. The arrows, possibly intended to guide the object of the lover's affection, were later repurposed by the asshole, who tried to kill someone he hated and was himself killed shortly afterward.
Artist #4: the helpful one
This one only has three messages, all written in a mix of upper and lowercase black lettering with red accents, and all unilaterally helpful; the one I haven't included is "tick, tick, tick" alongside an arrow pointing to a speaker that can set off your bomb collar. No begging for mercy, no expressions of fear, just two warnings and an instruction. Some of the others seem to have stopped to write down whatever happened to occur to them, but this one paused only to help you out.
The first message of theirs that you're likely to read is "IF ANYONE FINDS THIS I'M SO SORRY YOURE HERE," which gave me goosebumps the first time I read it. Like the first guy, this person seems to not want to be in the Madre (so they're likely another kidnapping victim), and like him, they don't seem to have much hope of escaping. Unlike him, they don't seem afraid. They've lost someone - maybe to the Madre, maybe before they arrived - and they stop to draw a kind of memorial for that loved one. They're mourning you, too, expressing sympathy for someone they'll never meet, stopping to point out dangers on the slim chance you'll see their messages and make it out alive.
Of these five people, only one seems to have prioritized themselves to the detriment of others. Seems Elijah's claim that "Last ones couldn't see beyond their own greed" is complete bullshit. One man couldn't. Everyone else who was trapped here risked their lives to write epitaphs, thoughts, and warnings for the people who came after - for you.
