Carruthers reports the story of the buran, a ferocious winter wind said to sally from a hole in the side of a mountain:We had frequently heard of the terrors, dangers, and winds of the Dzungarian Gate. . . . The natives relate the usual traditions as to the origin of the winds in this locality. In the myths of Central Asia a hole in the mountain, or an iron gate in a lake is the usual explanation of the origin of winds. In the case of which I am writing the island called Ala-tyube—a small extinct volcano in Ala Kul—is made responsible for the furious winds which sweep through the depression; the wind is called ebe, or yube by the Kirghiz, and in special cases, when it reaches its maximum velocity, the term buran is applied.