When The Jameson Whiskey Heir Bought A Girl And Watched Cannibals Eat Her
Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty ImagesJames S. Jameson, heir to the Jameson Irish Whiskey fortune.
In 1888, heir to the Irish whiskey fortune, James S. Jameson thought himself an adventurous explorer and went on the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition across Central Africa. Then, he decided to buy a child and watch her be eaten — simply so he could draw a picture of her being consumed.
With an Ottoman province in Sudan cut off by a revolt, the region’s leader Emin Pasha was in desperate need of supplies. As the expedition was being led by renowned explorer Henry Morton Stanley, all seemed to be in good hands.
Until it became clear that the true purpose was to annex even more land for the Belgian Free State colony in the Congo, that is. The abatement of humane treatment and working moral compasses found there are arguably what led Jameson to believe his unspeakable crime was nothing out of order.
The horrific account is detailed in Jameson’s own diary.
Wikimedia CommonsTippu Tip, a famed slave trader who served as Jameson’s fixer in Africa.
What’s clear from the records of this horror story is that by June 1888, Jameson led the expedition’s rear column and arrived at the Congo’s Ribakiba trading post — famous for its cannibal population. These accounts also confirm that Jameson’s point-person was Tippu Tip, a local fixer and slave trader.
According to an affidavit by Farran — published in 1890, and which he later retracted under pressure from the expedition’s financiers — Jameson told Tip how he’d like to witness cannibalism in person. Tip consulted with the village’s chiefs, who told him that he’d better purchase a slave. Jameson asked for the price, and gave them six handkerchiefs.
A few minutes later, a man returned with a 10-year-old girl.
The translator recalled that the chiefs told their villagers, “This is a present from a white man who desires to see her eaten.”
“The girl was tied to a tree,” Farran said, “the natives sharpened their knives the while. One of them then stabbed her twice in the belly.”
“Three men then ran forward, and began to cut up the body of the girl,” Jameson wrote in his diary. “Finally her head was cut off, and not a particle remained, each man taking his piece away down the river to wash it.”
Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty ImagesDrawing of the Emin Relief Expedition on its way through the Congo.
Both Jameson and Farran recounted how the poor girl never screamed during these last, bloodcurdling moments.
“Jameson, in the meantime, made rough sketches of the horrible scenes,” Farrad recalled. “Jameson afterward went to his tent, where he finished his sketches in watercolors.”
In a letter to his wife, Jameson claimed that the whole incident was a big misunderstanding. He offered the handkerchiefs as a joke, he claimed, unaware that the locals would actually cannibalize a little girl. Once they stabbed and dismembered her, there was nothing he could do but watch.
Though news of the incident outraged the public, both in Europe and in the U.S., Jameson never faced justice for his role in the gruesome death of the innocent 10-year-old. He died of a fever just a few months later.
But the real-life horror story did have one impact: The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition was the last of its kind. Non-scientific civilian expeditions into Africa were put on hold. This unbelievable horror story was simply too horrific let things continue the way they were.
After learning about these real-life horror stories scarier than any Hollywood movie, read about Pedro Rodrigues Filho, the real-life “Dexter” — serial killer of criminals. Then, learn about Bedlam and the real horror story of the Bethlem Royal Hospital.
