Bull-Roarer - An instrument for producing a whizzing or roaring sound.  Some Indians thought it produced the sound of the Thunderbird, a mythical bird supposed to cause lightning and thunder.  it was made from a narrow slat of wood, from six inches to two feet long, and from one half to two inches wide.  It was hung by a cord in one end, and the Indian produced the roaring sound by swinging it in circles above his head.  Also called a whizzer, whizzing stick, or lightning stick, it was used as a rain making instrument by some Indians.
 

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