 Another group of Hitchiti speakers, led by Cowkeeper, settled in what is now Alachua County, an area where the Spanish had maintained cattle ranches in the 17th century.Because one of the best-known ranches was called "El Rancho de la Chúa", the region became known as the "Alachua Prairie".The Spanish in Saint Augustine began calling the Alachua Creek "Cimarrones", which roughly meant "wild ones" or "runaways".