In 1888, James Jameson, Heir To A Whiskey Fortune, Bought A Girl To Be Cannibalized

James S. Jameson descended from John Jameson, the founder of Jameson Whiskey, and was thus heir to a substantial whiskey empire. In 1888, Jameson was a member of one of the last major European exploration trips through the center of Africa, the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition.

Little is known about Jameson’s life besides his family lineage and his brief, ill-fated trip to the Congo.

Jameson was a part of the Rear Column of what was touted as a rescue mission. No one had heard from Emin Pasha, the colonial Governor of the Equatorial Province of Sudan, for a long period of time following unrest in the region. Out of concern, a group of citizens organized an aid expedition to rescue Pasha, headed by famed explorer Henry M. Stanley.

Historians now believe, however, that the men’s true intention was to colonize more land in the Congo, and that the governor was never in any danger.

In time, this mission became somewhat infamous; many men perished or contracted various diseases, and numerous incidents of abuse occurred, all in addition to Jameson’s actions.

During the expedition, the group of colonizers stayed in a village called Lokandu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then known as Ribakiba. The town sat on the Lualaba River and was a frequent stop for slaving ships and ivory traders.

Reportedlyl because the town was allegedly known for cannibalism, Jameson expressed interest in witnessing the practice in action. Through his interpreter, he communicated this curiosity to their guide, who then informed the village chiefs and made arrangements for Jameson’s wish to be fulfilled.

James Jameson was eventually informed that the price of an enslaved child would be six handkerchiefs, which he then paid in exchange for the life of a 10-year-old girl. According to the sworn affidavit of Jameson’s interpreter, Assad Farran, which later appeared in The New York Times:

A man returned a few minutes [after Jameson paid] with a 10-year-old girl. Tippoo and the chiefs ordered the girl to be taken to the native huts. Jameson himself, Selim, Masondie, and Farhani, Jameson’s servant, presented him by Tippoo, and many others followed.

The man who had brought the girl said to the cannibals: “This is a present from a white man who desires to see her eaten.”

The child selected for the process was only 10 years old. Reports from observers indicated she recognized the situation and was acquiescent to her assigned fate, though she did look among her observers with a pleading gaze.

Assad Farran stated, “The girl was tied to a tree, the natives sharpened their knives the while. One of them then stabbed her twice in the belly.” The girl reportedly made no sound during her execution.

After succumbing to her injuries, the three men completely dismembered the girl’s body.

As the young girl’s execution was set in motion, Jameson reportedly began to sketch the violent act he was witnessing. He eventually completed six images that collectively depicted the entirety of the ritual. Later on, Jameson added watercolors to the pictures and presented them to the chiefs for approval.

According to Jameson, however, he did not make any sketches during the girl’s execution; he instead did so after the fact, drawing the scene from memory, as the violence was impossible to forget. Some have theorized Jameson said this in order to appear less complicit in the killing.

Jameson’s written account of the young girl’s killing differs significantly from Farran’s affidavit. Rather than citing his curiosity as the inciting incident, Jameson wrote that the entire episode began as some sort of twisted joke.

According to Jameson, “Until the last moment, I could not believe that they were in earnest.” Jameson added that he was not a “beast,” and wouldn’t have watched the event had he known the girl would actually be killed.

Jameson died of a fever at Boyoma Falls (then called Stanley Falls) on August 3, 1888. Although he never returned to his home country, he wrote a letter to his wife while he was dying in an attempt to save face.

Mrs. Jameson, with the aid of the Belgian government, sent the letter for publication in The New York Times after Jameson’s passing to posthumously save his reputation, already ruined by other accounts of the mission.

As a result of the events that occurred during the expedition, civilian expeditions to Africa were subsequently outlawed.

The three primary accounts of this event originate from Jameson; Henry M. Stanley, the leader of the expedition; and Assad Farran, the translator during the trip. Jameson’s journal corroborates the story itself – that he purchased a child to be killed and eaten – but denies that this was his aim.

The other two accounts merely elaborate upon the events: Farran’s version is told through the eyes of a seemingly neutral translator, whereas Stanley’s reads as more self-serving, as he may have wished to absolve himself of any blame for the events of the tragic voyage.