Factual error: The geographical context of the film is wrong. Riverton, Wyoming (as the name implies) is in a fertile agricultural river valley. The surrounding country is uncultivated desert. There is none of the extensive grasslands shown in the film. Moreover, even in the 1960s Riverton, which is a county seat and market center, was much more substantial than the film implies.
Factual error: The deer shot by Ennis is not an elk but a European red deer. There are no wild red deer in the USA, only imported and fenced in.
Answer: The man was a male prostitute. Jack engaged him to have sex.
raywest ★