John Smith had been abandoned by his mother soon after being born. Found and raised by a Catholic priest who gave him his name and without knowing it his occupation throughout his life.
He was forced to flee the church in Juarez Mexico at fourteen, one jump ahead of an angry General concerning his daughter's purity. By then though, the priest had taught him three languages. Spanish, English and French. He had also became a master of disguise as an actor in the plays put on by the priest for the people of Juarez. Add all that along with a natural ability to mimic any human voice he heard and most animals and you had yourself a chameleon.