Chuckawalla Bill (August 2, 1875 – January 11, 1950) was a

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

veteran, a

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...

in the British Army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

, a cook, and vagabond. His birth name was William Anthony Simon, although he most frequently used the name Anthony W. Simmons. Later in life, he settled down in

Palo Verde, California Palo Verde ( Spanish for "Green Stick"; Mojave: ''Hanyomalivah'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California. Its name comes from the native desert tree, Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida), which in turn takes its name from ...

. He is buried in the

Los Angeles National Cemetery The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Sawtelle unincorporated community of the West Los Angeles neighborhood in Los Angeles County, California. Geography The entrance to the cemetery is located at 950 Sou ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 1968,

Colin Fletcher Colin Fletcher (14 March 1922 – 12 June 2007) was a pioneering backpacker and writer. In 1963, Fletcher walked the length of that portion of Grand Canyon contained within the 1963 boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. Although ...

came across a cave near the Colorado River (about 5 miles southeast of

Boulder City, Nevada Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ( ...

) in which Bill had been living in and abandoned around 1916. ''The Man from the Cave'' was a 1981 book written by Fletcher, which detailed how, after finding a trunk and belongings abandoned by someone, Fletcher spent years putting together the life story of "Trunkman." Colin Fletcher's quote about Chuckawalla Bill: The "Chuckawalla Bill Spring" north of Desert Hot Springs is named after him.USGS Geographic Names Information System
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References

People of the Spanish–American War 1875 births 1950 deaths British Army personnel of World War I {{US-army-bio-stub