Sentence:  ...the captain of the vessel ordered a crew member to fire the <WSD>thunderstick</WSD>, as ancestors called the gun. / Word of bearded White men and their <WSD>thundersticks</WSD> was carried inland to other Indians. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A gun or cannon, especially a rifle. Originally used by or ascribed to members of non-European cultures or anthropomorphized animals describing firearms.