Before settlers entered Kentucky, men came through the Cumberland Gap in search of hides and furs and became known as Longhunters because they left their homes for extended hunting trips lasting months and even years. Tales of Kentucky's lush land and large herds of deer and buffalo drew men from Virginia and North Carolina despite attacks from Sioux and Cherokee Indians who considered Kentucky their hunting ground and despite harsh weather. Skilled hunters could return with hundreds of dressed deer skins to sell or trade, and in the 1700's buckskin was a common medium of exchange. The Longhunters followed limited trails into Kentucky made by animal herds or by Indians, including the Warriors Path, and Skaggs Trace was heavily used. Daniel Boone, Dr. Thomas Walker, Henry Skaggs, Valentine Harmon, James Knox, John Dysart, and others traveled to Rockcastle County and the Rockcastle River; Dysart later settled in Rockcastle off Skaggs Trace, and Harmon owned property near Mount Vernon. Most Long Hunter activity took place from 1750 to the 1790's. At Mount Vernon, George Washington created a deer enclosure so visitors could enjoy viewing deer, fencing off eighteen acres on the east slope for a deer park; friends in England sent him English fawns, and he was very protective of his deer.