The sun., 1908-01-06
LITTLE EGYPT" FOUND DEAD
SEE WHO DANCED ATTHE SEELEY
DINNER TEN YEARS AGO.
Coroner Says Murder; Dead OF Coal Gas.
Say Police and = observation-disclosures
Deyine Had Been n FlurIcsQue TOpllner
Mostly Since Chapman Made His Raid.


Mostly Since Chapman Made EHIs Raid.
Little Egypt"-the original Little
Egypt the dancer at the dinner given by
Herbert BarnUm Seeley grandson Of p.
7. Barnum. whsn Capt. Chapman made his
sensational raid at Sherry's little more
than ten years ago-Was found dead yester-
day m her apartments on the top floor OF
22e West Thirty y-seventh street.
Black marks on her neck and breast
and bloOdstains on her nightgown led
Coroner Hamburger 10 believe that she had
been murdered and he ordered the body
removed to the Morgue, where an autopsy
will be performed to-day by Coroner's
Physician O'Hanlon.
Detectives OF the West Thirty seventh
street station under Capt Stephen 0'Brisn
and DR.. NJ. NJ. Waxman Of go West Thirty
ninth street. who made an investigation.
reported that death had been caused by
coal gas asphyxiation and that there was
nothing suspicious.
Little Egypt. who in private life was
Katherine Devine. had occupied a Ave
room apartment In the Thirty-seventh
street house for two months while
she was appearing with burlesque COM
pany in and around New York She re-
don Theatre on the BowerY and was soon
to have opened with The Merry Widows
in New Orleans The manager of the show
was awaiting her yesterday in Philadelphia,
where she was to have rehearsed with the
company before starting for the South.
The black marks on the woman's neck
and breast were caused DR.. Wakman said,
by congestion Of the blood, and she prob
ably had had hemorrhage shortly before
she died. The physician and an ambulance
feul "A
condition Of the body showed that she had
died about torty-eight hours before her
apartments were entered by the janitor
who became suspicious that something had
happened TO her.
Her sister. Mrs. Frank Connell. Of 24I
West ThiTty-sixth street. had called 10 500
her several times within the last two days.
and when she failed TO get any response
yesterday afternoon the janitOr went
through a window from the fire escape and
found Little Egypt lying dead in bed.
All the windows and doors were closed
and there was strong odOr OF coal gas In
every room. The jGnitOr recalled that only
the day before several tenants had COM
planned 70 him that coal gas was coming
through the heaters from the furnace in
the cellar The woman's clothes were IN
the bedroom as she had left them before
retiring and her jewelry and some money
were on the bureau.
Coroner Harburger believed that Little
Egypt had been strangled. but there was
no evidence Of a struggle and the body lay
in the bed in a natural position. Nobody
in the house had seen any thing Of her since
Wednesday. but the police learned that
she had spent part Of Wednesday night in
her apartments with Thomas Stewart the
clerk Of the Arlington Hotel, 27S West
Thirty y-eighth street. where she formerly
lived. He left her at midnight.
Mrs. Connell told the police last night
that her sister had weak heart, probably
as a result OF the continuous dancing she
had been doing for the last fifteen years.
She drank steadily. but not to excess, and
was an inYeterate smoker, consuming as
many as sixty and seventy cigarettes a day.
OF recent years she was known as a woman
OF moods and often would seclude herself
in her apartments.
Little Egypt became famous the world
over following the sensational Seeley dinner
and for a long time theatrical managers
besieged her. She was engaged at high
salaries to do the muscle dance and was
arrested In nearly every city in the country.
After touring the United States she went
10 Europe and created a furore in London.
Berlin Paris, Budapest and other cities
on the Continent Upon her return to this
country she had lost none OF her fame.
But the novelty Of Little Egypt finally wore
off-scores OF Little Egypts sprang up--and
il was hard to keep track Of the original.
Six years ago her popularity was on the
wane and little was heard OF her until she
was arrested in n raid and taken to court.
After her appearances in the midways
she danced az club stays in many of the
principal cities of the country and finally
dTifted into burlesque. where she wae the
topliner with all the shows she joined. She
was born in Paris, but nobody seems to
know how long ago. The police got her
age as ~, her sister said she was 80. and old
timers in the Tenderloin said she was well
along toward IS. She had jet black hair
without a trace Of gray. sharp black eyes
and a face ugly but pleasing. She was
1.-the and muscular, and years of dissipa-
ton seemed to have left no mark on her
features.
Mrs. Connell said Little Egypt had
never married and nobody could say that
she ever had love affair. She had been a
money maker since the Seeley dinner
but il is not known what she did with her
money. She had considerable jewelry
which was found in the apartments. and
it was said that she had invested lot Of
money in Long Island real estate.
Mrs. COnnell will take charge OF the body
after the autopsy is performed at the