James Sligo Jameson, grandson of John Jameson and heir to the Jameson whiskey fortune, chose to follow a different path than his family’s renowned business. Instead of managing distilleries, he took to the wilds as a “naturalist,” which at the time involved hunting exotic animals and mounting them for “scientific” purposes. His exploration pursuits, however, would lead him into the depths of depravity, resulting in one of the most grotesque and disturbing episodes of colonial history.
In 1887, Jameson was selected by famed explorer Henry Morton Stanley to join the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, a mission to rescue Emin Pasha, the governor of Equatoria (modern-day Uganda), who was under siege by Mahdist forces. This “humanitarian” mission, however, was tangled in the ambitions of European colonial powers. Stanley, employed by King Leopold II of Belgium, was tasked with passing through the Congo Free State—a territory under Leopold’s personal rule, where one of history’s most infamous genocides would claim up to 20 million lives. The expedition, under the guise of rescue, was also part of Leopold’s depraved ambitions in Africa.
By May 1888, Stanley split the expedition into two groups. Jameson remained with the ill-fated Rear Column under Major Walter Bartlett. Their task was to secure labor to transport supplies, a responsibility that fell to the infamous Afro-Arab slave trader Tippu Tib. Bartlett’s erratic and psychotic behavior delayed the operation and led to a violent confrontation in which he was shot and killed. Bartlett’s madness later inspired Joseph Conrad’s creation of the character Kurtz in Heart of Darkness.
Amidst these difficulties, Jameson descended into an act of profound horror. He had developed a macabre fascination with cannibalism, a topic he often discussed with Tippu Tib. While staying at Riba Riba village, Jameson expressed a desire to witness the ritual firsthand. Tippu Tib, ever the opportunist, told Jameson that such a spectacle could be arranged in exchange for six handkerchiefs. Eager to see this horrifying practice, Jameson handed over the payment.
According to several eyewitness accounts, including Jameson’s own disturbing confession, the villagers procured a ten-year-old girl, captured from a neighboring tribe. She was brought forward, tied to a tree, and stabbed twice in the chest by one of the men. As she bled out, others joined in, decapitating her and butchering her remains. The body parts were then carried to a river, where they were prepped for consumption. Throughout this horrific scene, Jameson calmly sketched the gruesome act, later retreating to his tent to complete his drawings in watercolor.
Jameson would later offer a feeble defense, claiming he believed the entire incident was a joke and had no idea the girl would actually be killed. However, he neither attempted to stop the murder nor expressed genuine remorse. His written account, posthumously edited by his wife, still provides an unflinching admission of his involvement.
In his own words:
I told him [Tippu Tib] that people at home generally believed that these were only ‘traveler’s tales’, as they are called in our country, or, in other words, lies. He then said something to an Arab named Ali, seated next to him, who turned round to me and said, ‘Give me a bit of cloth and see.’ I sent my boy for six handkerchiefs, thinking it was all a joke, and that they were not in earnest, but presently a man appeared, leading a young girl of about ten-years-old by the hand, and I then witnessed the most horribly sickening sight I am ever likely to see in my life. He plunged the knife quickly into her breast twice, and she fell on her face, turning over on her side. Three men then ran forward and began to cut up the body of the girl; finally her head was cut off, and not a particle remained, each man taking his piece away down to the river to wash it.
Jameson’s failure to deny or deflect responsibility is as haunting as the act itself. He took no action to intervene, standing as a complicit observer to a murder. His sketches, drawn with the cold detachment of a naturalist cataloging an insect, are a testament to his moral decay.
Not long after this incident, Jameson succumbed to haematuric fever, dying on August 17, 1888. He never faced the consequences of his actions, leaving behind a legacy forever tainted by this atrocity. The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, plagued by incompetence, madness, and cruelty, was ultimately a failure. Emin Pasha, who had hoped for military aid, found little value in the relief effort, which dissolved into one of colonial history’s most horrific episodes.
Despite this, many of the expedition’s leaders—including Stanley—emerged with their reputations intact. They were celebrated as heroic adventurers, honored with degrees, and given speaking engagements, while the unspeakable horrors they facilitated in Africa were largely ignored.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed Western Horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy and other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
