The geographic position of the Creeks in the midst of warlike and aggressive nations was a powerful stimulant for making "invincibles" of their male offspring. The ruling passion was that of war; second to it was that of hunting. A peculiar incentive was the possession of war-titles, and the rage for these was as strong among the younger men as that for plunder among the older. The surest means of ascending the ladder of honor was the capture of scalps from the enemy, and the policy of the red or bloody towns was that of fostering the warlike spirit by frequent raids and expeditions. In some towns young men were treated as menials before they had performed some daring deeds on the battle-field or acquired a war title.[96] To become a warrior every young man had to pass through a severe ordeal of privations called _fast_, púskita, from the fifteenth to the seventeenth year of his age. This _initiation_ into manhood usually lasted from four to eight months, but in certain rare instances could be abridged to twelve days.