I noticed this:
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You have a culture with an ax to grind, and they’re mad at those that have been their oppressors. There’s also something noble about helping the little guy, especially when you can see how these underdogs have been mistreated by a bunch of fortunate ignoramuses
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I think we can probably assume that the underdogs are the Salamanders. After all the hickens don't really sound like underdogs - they've got the money to hire Stranger after all.
But what if Stranger's big realisation is that he's been on the wrong side all along? What if the oppressors are actually the Hickens? Maybe they've been mistreating the Sals (imagine 19th century villagers, suspicious of gypsies) and are building the dam themselves. Obviously the outlaws have something to do with it because The Looten Duke said "Blood may be thicker than water, but water's where the Moolah is at!" but maybe the whole thing is more complicated than we thought.
This is pure speculation I know, but tell me what you think...