Toussaint was the chief of a leper colony in South America, known for his appearance in the novel Papillon. The semi-autobiographical novel recounts the escape of Henri Charrière from the French penal colony of Devil's Island in French Guiana. In 1934, Charrière, with his fellow prisoners Clusiot and Maturette, escaped from the penal colony. During their escape, they went to Toussaint's leper colony to obtain money and a boat.