At the age of 14, José accompanied his father Fernando, and many other Yaqui people from Sonora, during the 1849 "Gold Rush" to Upper California. José and his father returned to Sonora about two years later. José seems to have learned English at that time, as well as having his first experience in defending himself against armed conflict (Corral, 1959 [1900]). In spite of statements to the contrary, his father Fernando evidently did well in the gold fields, as José was enrolled in an exclusive private school, the only school at the time in Guaymas, and one of only 20 schools in the State of Sonora in the 1850s (Molina, 1983). This was the Colegio Sonora operated by Cayetano Navarro, Prefect of Guaymas. José subsequently learned to read and write Spanish. Corral correctly states that Cajemé was 16 to 18 years of age during his time attending school, supporting the actual 1835 year of his birth (Corral, 1959 [1900]).