Noted for Physical Courage.
The battered old copy of "The Wealth of Nations" found there in South Africa forms one of the treasures of Burns's library, and there are in England few private libraries that can equal his in the department of economics and sociology.
The courage Burns subsequently displayed in political fights was shown in a physical way during his South African period. On one occasion a sick man fell into a river swarming with water-snakes and crocodiles. Burns, without an instant's hesitation, jumped in and rescued him.
On another occasion the propeller blades of the steam-launch which the men were using worked loose and sunk to the muddy bottom of the river. The water was thick and filthy with rank, decaying vegetable matter, and there was an added source of danger in the venomous creatures that might be lurking there.
The skipper of the launch was preparing to dive for the blades when Burns stopped him:
"Don't try it," he said. "You're married and I'm not, so there won't be so much at stake if I do it."
He dived in the reeking water for an hour and in the end fished up the blades.