Juan Antonio (Cahuilla)
Encyclopedia
Juan Antonio Cahuilla name: Cooswootna, Yampoochee, (He Gets Mad Quickly), was a major chief of the Mountain Band of the Cahuilla
people from the 1840s to 1863.
leader Walkara led a great raid through the Cajon Pass
into Southern California
to capture a large number of horses from the Mexican ranchos. In some of these raids, his raiders clashed with Juan Antonio and the Cahuilla Mountain Band. In 1842, Juan Antonio greeted the explorer Daniel Sexton and gave him access to explore the area near the San Gorgonio Pass
.
Following Walkara's raid, Jose Carmen del Lugo invited New Mexican colonists to settle in Politana to in exchange for defending his Rancho San Bernardino
and its herds of horses and cattle from raids by bandits and native American raiders. Following a dispute with the Lugo's the New Mexicans moved south to build the settlements of Agua Mansa
and La Placita de Trujillo
on the Rancho Jurupa
. Chief Juan Antonio was then invited to move a group of his Cahuilla Mountain Band to Politana in their place.
During the Mexican-American War, Chief Juan Antonio led his warriors to join Californios led by Jose Carmen del Lugo in attacking their traditional enemy, the Luiseño. Lugo led this action in retaliation for the Pauma Massacre
, in which the Luiseno had killed 11 Californios. The combined forces staged an ambush
and killed 33-40 of the Luiseno warrior
s, an event that became known as the Temecula Massacre
of 1847.
Juan Antonio also lent support to a U.S. Army expedition led by Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale
, defending the party against attacks by Walkara and his band of Ute warriors. For his help Beale awarded him a pair of military epaulets, which he wore thereafter.
In the summer of 1851, Juan Antonio and a group of his fellow tribesmen pursued and destroyed the outlaw Irving Gang in San Timoteo Canyon
. This band of ruffians had stolen and robbed in the San Bernardino Valley including at the Rancho San Bernardino
, near Juan Antonio's village of Politana. Acting on the orders of the Jose Carmen del Lugo, Justice of the Peace and proprietor of the rancho, whose house the brigands were looting at the time, the Cahuilla pursued them into the canyon and in a running fight chased them into a box canyon, surrounded and killed eleven of them with arrows. Working on the ranchos and hunting down native raiders and bandits was a role that Juan Antonio's people had played in the San Bernardino region under the Mexican authorities. Under American rule, they believed themselves duly authorized by the Justice of the Peace to carry out their actions as before.
However, the newly arrived American settlers in Southern California
resented the killing of white men by Indians and took it to be the beginning of an Indian uprising. A company of militia from San Diego was sent against them. The Cahuilla fled to the mountains and discovering the truth of the matter, the leader of the militia, Major General Joshua H. Bean
, restrained the militia from attacking the Cahuilla with difficulty, preventing a war. Judge Benjamin Ignatius Hayes
held a hearling and subsequently found their acitons had legal justification. However the resentment of local Americans at the killing of fellow Americans led Juan Antonio to move his people away from white settlements in the valley to the mountains.
Closely following the outcome of the Irving Gang incident, in late 1851, Juan Antonio, his warriors and their families, moved eastward from Politana, toward the San Gorgonio Pass
and settled in a valley which branched off to the northeast from San Timoteo Canyon, at a village named Saahatpa. In November 1851, the Garra Revolt occurred, wherein the Cupeno leader Antonio Garra attempted to bring Juan Antonio into his revolt of native people in Southern California
. Juan Antonio, friendly to the Californios and Americans, was instrumental in capturing Antonio Garra and turning him over to authorities helping to end that revolt.
Juan Antonio and his people remained in Saahatpa until he and many of his people died in the smallpox
epidemic that struck Southern California in 1862-1863. It reduced the once numerous Cahuilla, to a minority of the population in the region. Juan Antonio was buried at Saahatpa. His body was discovered there in a 1956 archeological expedition, identified by his epaulets and reburied with military honors.
Cahuilla
The Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
people from the 1840s to 1863.
Biography
Juan Antonio, was born somewhere in the vicinity of Mt. San Jacinto in 1783. In 1840, the UteUte
-Tribes:*Ute people, an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado**Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado**Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah...
leader Walkara led a great raid through the Cajon Pass
Cajon Pass
Cajon Pass is a moderate-elevation mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California in the United States. It was created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault...
into Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
to capture a large number of horses from the Mexican ranchos. In some of these raids, his raiders clashed with Juan Antonio and the Cahuilla Mountain Band. In 1842, Juan Antonio greeted the explorer Daniel Sexton and gave him access to explore the area near the San Gorgonio Pass
San Gorgonio Pass
The San Gorgonio Pass el. cuts between the San Bernardino Mountains on the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. Like the Cajon Pass to the northwest, it was also created by the San Andreas Fault...
.
Following Walkara's raid, Jose Carmen del Lugo invited New Mexican colonists to settle in Politana to in exchange for defending his Rancho San Bernardino
Rancho San Bernardino
Rancho San Bernardino was a Mexican land grant in present day San Bernardino County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José del Carmen Lugo, José María Lugo, Vicente Lugo, and Diego Sepulveda...
and its herds of horses and cattle from raids by bandits and native American raiders. Following a dispute with the Lugo's the New Mexicans moved south to build the settlements of Agua Mansa
Agua Mansa, California
Agua Mansa is a former settlement in an unincorpated area of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Now a ghost town, only the cemetery remains, it once was the largest settlement in San Bernardino County. The town was established in 1845 on the Santa Ana River, across from the town of...
and La Placita de Trujillo
La Placita, California
La Placita is a former settlement and the earliest community established in Riverside County, California, USA. The town was established around 1843 on the Santa Ana River, across from the town of Agua Mansa...
on the Rancho Jurupa
Rancho Jurupa
Rancho Jurupa was a Mexican land grant in California, United States, that is divided by the present-day counties of Riverside and San Bernardino. The land was granted to Juan Bandini by Governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1838...
. Chief Juan Antonio was then invited to move a group of his Cahuilla Mountain Band to Politana in their place.
During the Mexican-American War, Chief Juan Antonio led his warriors to join Californios led by Jose Carmen del Lugo in attacking their traditional enemy, the Luiseño. Lugo led this action in retaliation for the Pauma Massacre
Pauma Massacre
The Pauma Massacre occurred in December 1846, north of Escondido, California. Luiseño Indians killed eleven Mexicans, Californio lancers who had stolen horses from them...
, in which the Luiseno had killed 11 Californios. The combined forces staged an ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
and killed 33-40 of the Luiseno warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s, an event that became known as the Temecula Massacre
Temecula Massacre
The Temecula Massacre took place in December 1846 east of present-day Temecula, California. It was part of a series of related events in the Mexican-American War. A combined force of Californio militia and Cahuilla Indians attacked and killed an estimated 33-40 Luiseño Indians...
of 1847.
Juan Antonio also lent support to a U.S. Army expedition led by Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale
Edward Fitzgerald Beale
Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale was a national figure in 19th century America. He was naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs superintendent, California rancher, diplomat, and friend of Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill Cody and Ulysses S. Grant...
, defending the party against attacks by Walkara and his band of Ute warriors. For his help Beale awarded him a pair of military epaulets, which he wore thereafter.
In the summer of 1851, Juan Antonio and a group of his fellow tribesmen pursued and destroyed the outlaw Irving Gang in San Timoteo Canyon
San Timoteo Canyon
San Timoteo Canyon is an ancient river valley that runs from south of Banning, California in Riverside County to a point just south of San Bernardino, California in San Bernardino County...
. This band of ruffians had stolen and robbed in the San Bernardino Valley including at the Rancho San Bernardino
Rancho San Bernardino
Rancho San Bernardino was a Mexican land grant in present day San Bernardino County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José del Carmen Lugo, José María Lugo, Vicente Lugo, and Diego Sepulveda...
, near Juan Antonio's village of Politana. Acting on the orders of the Jose Carmen del Lugo, Justice of the Peace and proprietor of the rancho, whose house the brigands were looting at the time, the Cahuilla pursued them into the canyon and in a running fight chased them into a box canyon, surrounded and killed eleven of them with arrows. Working on the ranchos and hunting down native raiders and bandits was a role that Juan Antonio's people had played in the San Bernardino region under the Mexican authorities. Under American rule, they believed themselves duly authorized by the Justice of the Peace to carry out their actions as before.
However, the newly arrived American settlers in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
resented the killing of white men by Indians and took it to be the beginning of an Indian uprising. A company of militia from San Diego was sent against them. The Cahuilla fled to the mountains and discovering the truth of the matter, the leader of the militia, Major General Joshua H. Bean
Joshua Bean
Joshua H. Bean was an American political figure.Joshua Bean was born c. 1818 in Mason County, Kentucky to Phantly Roy Bean and his wife Anna Gore. His paternal grandparents were Benjamin Bean and his wife Fernetta Johnston, daughter of Archibald Johnston. Both grandparents were born in Virginia...
, restrained the militia from attacking the Cahuilla with difficulty, preventing a war. Judge Benjamin Ignatius Hayes
Benjamin Ignatius Hayes
Benjamin Ignatius Hayes , lawyer, first Judge of the Southern District of California from 1852-1864. Writer and collector of historical information about early California....
held a hearling and subsequently found their acitons had legal justification. However the resentment of local Americans at the killing of fellow Americans led Juan Antonio to move his people away from white settlements in the valley to the mountains.
Closely following the outcome of the Irving Gang incident, in late 1851, Juan Antonio, his warriors and their families, moved eastward from Politana, toward the San Gorgonio Pass
San Gorgonio Pass
The San Gorgonio Pass el. cuts between the San Bernardino Mountains on the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. Like the Cajon Pass to the northwest, it was also created by the San Andreas Fault...
and settled in a valley which branched off to the northeast from San Timoteo Canyon, at a village named Saahatpa. In November 1851, the Garra Revolt occurred, wherein the Cupeno leader Antonio Garra attempted to bring Juan Antonio into his revolt of native people in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. Juan Antonio, friendly to the Californios and Americans, was instrumental in capturing Antonio Garra and turning him over to authorities helping to end that revolt.
Juan Antonio and his people remained in Saahatpa until he and many of his people died in the smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic that struck Southern California in 1862-1863. It reduced the once numerous Cahuilla, to a minority of the population in the region. Juan Antonio was buried at Saahatpa. His body was discovered there in a 1956 archeological expedition, identified by his epaulets and reburied with military honors.