When the insurrection broke out in the northern province, Toussaint remained faithful to his master, and prevented any destruction on the estate; but finding ultimately that he could not stem the tide, he sent his master’s family for safety into Cap Haïtien, and joined the insurgents. He was at first appointed surgeon to the army, as among his other accomplishments was a knowledge of _simples_, which had given him great influence on the estate, and was now to do so in the insurgent forces. He liked this employment, as it kept him free from the savage excesses of his companions, who were acting with more than ordinary barbarity. The three leaders of the insurgents were then Jean François, a negro, about whom opinions differ. St. Remy says he was intellectual, though the general idea is more probable, that he was an energetic savage. Biassou was sensual and violent, as cruel as man could be and an avowed leader of the Vaudoux sect, and apparently a Papaloi; but the vilest of the three was Jeannot. He loved to torture his white prisoners, and drank their blood mixed with rum; but he was as cowardly as he was cruel, and the scene at his execution, when he clung to the priest in frantic terror, must have afforded satisfaction to the friends of those whom he had pitilessly murdered. Jeannot was also a great proficient in Vaudoux practices, and thus gained much influence with the ignorant slaves; it was this influence, not his cruelties, which roused the anger of Jean François, who seized and summarily shot him. It is curious to read of the projects of these negro leaders. They had no idea of demanding liberty for the slaves; they only wanted liberty for themselves. In some abortive negotiations with the French, Jean François demanded that 300 of the leaders should be declared free, whilst Toussaint would only have bargained for fifty. The mulatto leaders, however, were most anxious to preserve their own slaves, and, as I have related, gave up to death those blacks who had aided them in supporting their position; and a French writer records that up to Le Clerc’s expedition, the mulattoes had fought against the blacks with all the zeal that the interests of property could inspire.