The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-05-16
NINE. CURLEY
WAS TOO FOND
Of DIAMONDS
Grave Charge Against
a Clairvoyant.
DISAPPEARED WITH THE GEMS
HER DUPEs SAID TO BE NUM-
BERED BY SCORES.
Police Asked to Arrest Her if She Is
Still in This Country-Left
the City in Great
Haste.
DISAPPEARED WITH THE GEMS
HER DUPES SAID TO BE NUM-
BERED BY SCORES.

Two ladies called at police headquarters
and also upon Acting Police Judge Groez-
niger yesterday to secure a warrant for
the arrest of Nine. E. Curley, the
spiritualist and clairvoyant, and her hus-
band, on charges of swinding and lar
ceny. The ladies admitted they had been
duped by the medium. and said Nine
Curleys victims in this city are numbered
by scores.
Mrs. Gray, one of the ladies who seeks
to set the law officers upon the medium,
keeps a lodging house on Geary street,
and 1t was there that Nine. Curley and
her husband held forth up to the 9Th of
this month. when they hastily departed
from the city, taking with them some
silverware and jewelry belonging to the
landlady, so she alleges, besides several
thousand dollars worth of diamonds be-
longing to other ladies, as we'll as large
sums of money.
Mrs. Gray bluntly accuses the Curleys
of being frauds of the first water. She
says they came to her house about two
months ago, engaging the parlors. A day
or two later large advertisements APP
peared in the local papers, announcing
that Nine. Curley had come to town and
was prepared to give seances at 81 per
seance She did a rushing business from
the start and day and night her rooms
were tnronged with women. But 1t APP
pears Nine. Curley was not satisfied with
her legitimate business, and proceeded to
gather in all the wealth belonging to her
patrons she could get her hands on.
Mrs. Gray says the womans scheme
was ingenious. First. she would tempt
ingly display a satchel full of gold, which
in lottery. She also had letter pur-
porting to be from the manager of the
lottery, intimating that Nine. Curley was
tickets. Many women were thus separated
from their dollars, but the scheme that
netted the largest dividends was as fol-
lows: Nine. Curley would tell her vic
tim that some evil influence lowered over
the customer and would ask If she had
any diamonds. Receiving an Affirmative
dia monds were the cause of the evil in
fluence, and would ask for the gems, in
order that she might work a charm on
them that would dissipate the bad spell.
diamonds, or II she had no diamonds, then
any other jewelry that she might pos
sess, and that was the last of them.
Two weeks ago Curley notified the land
lady that they were going away. They
got new trunks and new clothing, while
the man shaved off his mustache. They
out. and she says they took quantity of
her silverware with them. The woman
had her hair combed entirely different
from the way she wore it ordinarily in
order to change her appearance as much
as possible. Nine. Curleys advertise
ments, however, were continued in the
papers for two or three days, Mrs. Gray
says, for the purpose of leading her dupes
TO believe she was still here.
Mrs. Gray says that since the Curleys
went away her house has been besieged
by women who mourn the loss of coin and
jewelry they had intrusted to the me
dunn. One woman from Oakland, she
said, lost s75 in money and $500 worth of
diamonds; another lost a gold watch,
pearl ring and nearly hundred dollars;
still another was out 800 in money, while
all had been fieeced to a greater or less
extent. 1t was the woman who lost $70c
that went with Mrs. Gray to get the war
rant. The landlady is of the opinion that
the Curleys have gone to Honolulu. They
came from San Antonio. Texas, here, and
are well known in many Southwestern
cities. Their real name is Featherman.
Curley being an alias. The womans
father is a photographer in st. Louis. She
is about "a years of age and has a beauty
spot on her face worked in India ink.