whole colony was in the grip of the gold-fever, Belt retained the
same quiet habits of observation which had marked him at home--for
there, as to whatever part of the world his work subsequently
called him, the engineer was always at heart a naturalist. He
proved an excellent observer, and a certain speculative tendency
led him to group his observations so as to bring out their full
theoretical bearing.

Amid real hard work he found time to evolve a theory of whirlwinds
and to speculate upon the soaring of birds. A companion has
recorded in the following terms another matter which engaged much
of his attention at this time: "The boldest of his speculations,
and one of the soundest, as after-events proved, was his plan for
crossing the Australian continent. He proposed, at the time the
government expedition was mooted, to replace the costly plans of
the government by the following scheme:--That he and his brother
Anthony (who was unfortunately lost in the "Royal Charter") should
be conveyed to the Gulf of Carpentaria, with about twenty
pack-horses loaded with provisions and water; that an escort should
protect them for some twenty miles from the coast, and that then
the two voyagers only, with their pack-horses, should make their
way to Cooper's Creek, the farthest known accessible point from the
Victorian settled districts. Belt argued justly: 'If we fail, only
two lives will be lost, but all chances are in our favour; we are
provided with water and food more than ample to cover the distance
we have to travel. Every step of our road carries us homeward and
to safety. If we never find a drop of water on the road, our
animals have enough to carry those who have to bear the whole
journey to their goal, and as the animals succumb they will be shot
or turned adrift.' The event showed Belt's sagacity. The