The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-01-14

little Egypt" Was Engaged &c
Pose in the Altogether
HER PART IN TIE sggLEY DINNER

HEX PAX NV 49, ~ -
Cans. Chapman's Raid lnterfered with
the Giving of Fier Full Performance
and the Egyptian Slave on Pedestal
Turn was Omitted -Nevertheiess She
Posed a Little ana the Diners Pinched
Her Limbs Chapman Describes a
Scene at Sherrys.
New York, Jan. 1.-THE trial Of Police
Captain Chapman by the police board
was continued to-day, and Little
Egypt,'' the Algerian muscle dancer, was
the star witness. Capt Chapman is
charged with exceeding his authority by
making a midnight raid December 10, on
Sherry's ball room, where Herbert u.
Seeley, a grandson OF T. L. Barnum, was
entertaining a score of friends at stag
dinner with vaudeville accompaniment
which Chapman claimed was indecent
While Chapman is technically on trial,
Secley is an unwilling prosecutor. The
Captain subpoenaed all the women who
danced at the dinner and all of the diners
He began his defense last Friday by
calling Anna Belle Whitford, who testi-
fed that she had been asked to dance
naked at the dinner that she had refus-
ed, and notified Chapman, hence the
raid.
On the witness stand, Lottie Mortimer,
a. vaudeville performer, repeated an in
decent toast she offered, to which the
Seeley party drank. She also told of the
liberties the diners took with her, and of
the indecent or suggestive Christmas pres
ents that Minnie Ringwood, another
dancer, distributed to tine guests.
Miss Renwood, dressed as Trilby, rep
resented Santa Claus Up-to-date," and
to her person We're pinned signs not al
together proper. Minnie Renwood's tes-
timony corroborated Miss Mortimer's.
LITTLE EGYPT,Sa TESTIMONY.
Little Egypt, of Ashea Waba, told, in
broken language, how she was engaged
to do dance and pose on a pedestal
as an Egyptian slave, wearing bracelet
on her ankle, but otherwise naked. She
said she would do so 'for the sake of
art"
She posed ga little at the dinner, she
said, but the raid interferred with her
giving the full performance for which she
was engaged. She told how the Seeley
guests piled her with wine and lifted her
and pinched her limbs. The attorneys
who questioned her could evidently have
brought out a more revolving story, for
she was an eager witness.
Her lawyers insited on limiting her
I, ~, hot
she contracted to dance in the nude, that
she did dance there in a semi-nude state,
and that she would have danced in the al
together had it not been for Capt. Chap
mans raid. The only illustration the wo-
man gave was when she described her
dancing costume she stood up then AMI
Indicated the portions of body which were
covered or uncovered.
Capt. Chapman went on the stand ear
lier in the day and narrated the story Of
the raid. This is what he said he saw at
Sherry's
WHAT CHAPMAN SAW.
"A man was standing on the landing.
an employe Of Sherry's. | said. Where's
the entertainments He pointed toward
door Officer Walters opened it. AS he
did / saw four men in the room. MIR.
Rich was talking TO Cora Routt. Mr..
Harper was standing to the right of the
stage door, and Mr.. SeeIey was TO the
left. just inside the curtains. Capt. Routt
was in the centre of the room. She was
very much undressed. Her bosom was
fully exposed She had no skirt over her
legs. On the lounge on the right of the
room was a woman with one leg entirely
bare pulling on either tights or stock
ing. negro woman and a little girl
were near her.
Another woman was standing with her
foot on a chair, pulling on a slipper. She
was very much exposed. Her girdle hung
down. She pulled it up as / came near
her. Her bosom also was exposed. There
were about eight women and four men in
the room. / stepped up to Cora Routt
and said to her: You are a disgrace to
your sex. You ought to be ashamed of
yourself to stand in that condition in the
presence of those men, She Just looked
at me, and Phipps says to me: What do
you want? | said: I am the Police Cap
tain of this precinct
with that Cora Routt made dive for
the curtains, pulled the portierres around
her, and began to give me tongue lash
ing. Then | told the four men that I
had been informed that there was to be
immoral dancing there and that / had
come to investigate"
The District Attorney has stated that
he viii examine the minutes Of the trial,
and il the evidence justifies such action,
he win lay the matter before the grand
jury.