Juan Antonio was born somewhere in the vicinity of Mt. San Jacinto in 1783. In 1840, the Ute 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.