troops.... In his deeds and warlike
achievements he equalled the great captains of ancient and modern times."

One example of the risks which he ran in battle occurred in his efforts to
put down an insurrection of the mulattoes. In this contest he fell into an
ambush in the mountains near Port de Paix, a shower of bullets sweeping
his ranks. His private physician fell dead by his side and a plume of
feathers in his hat was shot away, but he remained unharmed. The same was
the case soon after when, in a narrow pass, his coachman was shot down.
The negro leader seemed, like Napoleon, to bear a charmed life.

Declaring himself lieutenant-general of the colony, he wrote to the
Directory in Paris, guaranteeing to be responsible for the orderly
behavior of the blacks and their good will to France. He sent at the same
time his two elder sons to Paris to be educated, making them practically
hostages for his honor and good faith.

In 1798 the war, which had lasted for years, came to an end, the British
being expelled from the island and the rebellious mulattoes put down.
Peace prevailed, and the negro conqueror now devoted himself to the
complete pacification of the people. Agriculture was encouraged, the
churches were reopened, schools were established, and law and justice were
made equal for all. At the same time the army was kept in excellent
training and a rigid discipline exacted.

As is usual in such cases, there were abundant applications among the
negroes for official positions, and Toussaint was sorely put to it to
dispose of these ignorant aspirers after high places without giving
offence. He seems, however, to have been well versed in political
management, and is said to have disposed of one unlearned applicant for a
judicial position with the words, "Ah, yes; you would make an excellent
magistrate. Of course you understand Latin.--No?--Why, that is very
unfortunate, for you know that Latin is absolutely necessary."

There is another evidence of his wisdom in dealing with his people that is
worth repeating. As has been said, when the revolution began Hayti had
about half a million of blacks to seventy thousand whites and mulattoes.
Toussaint adopted an original method of making the force of this fact
evident to his followers. He would fill a glass with black grains of corn
and throw upon them a few grains of white. "You are the black grains," he
would say; "your enemies are the white." Then he would shake the glas