The San Francisco call., 1905-04-26
PLAYS ON Woe
TO WIN GEMS
HeartIeSS Swindler Uses Her
Art to Cajole Jewels From
a Bereaved Woman Victim
FLEES WITH PLUMBER
Self-Styled ClairyOyant a
Fugitive After a Patron
Is Awakened to the Fraud

OAKLAND, April 25.-"Madame
Regina Ruff" hypnotist, clairvoyant
and psychologist. after one month OF
rapid fire practice of her varied tai
ents, has disappeared from Oakland.
leaving a train of mourning dupes, the
FIRST one of whom disclosed her iden-
tity to the police to-day in the person
OF Mrs. Charles Stearns, wife of a
Southern Pacific Company engineer,
who parted with 500 worth of as
sorted jewels after a hypnotic seance
with the fugitive unfolder of the past,
present and future.
II took exactly ten days for Mrs.
Stearus TO realize she had been made
q victim Of the clever operator. But
the Santa Cruz womans experience
was exceptionally bitter in that she
stripped herself Of her dead father S
gifts in the alluring belief that by
transferring them TO the eclairvoyanJ
she should be brought into communion
with his spirit.
Madame Ruff opened her parlors
March II IN the Eva building. 525
Fourteenth street. She won patrons
BY the hundreds. They came from
cities all around the bay. Not a few
handed over large amounts of money.
On April 1S Mrs. Stearns appeared and
forty-eight hours later, after turning
over her gems, discovered that her ad-
wiser had decamDed. Mrs. Stearns
conferred with her husband. He
headed straight for the police. A war
rant for Madame Ruffs'' arrest was
sworn to without delay
Ever since her disappearance the
Eva building has been overrun with
the missing woman's credulous pa
o irons. The police estimate she has
cleaned up about $4,000.
The Regina Ruff" is only profess
eional. Prosaic Mr.. and Mrs. Will
Hams were the names given by the
operator and a man she introduced as
her husband, who is also missing. The
last word she left at the building was
that she intended to go automobiling
IN San Francisco on Sunday, April 16
Mrs. Stearns' father was T. J. Weeks
Of Santa Cruz. The gems she handed
over to the clairvoyant, as listed by
the police were:
One gold satin finished, open-face Swiss
watch No. lo424s0 stem winder. diamond In
center OF case; watch the size OF a % cent
piece. has two scratches on the case, one on
the SIDE snd one near the diamond in the cen
One heur-de- lis pin with FIVE pearls set across
sne gele satin finish. This pin. goes with the
watch 10 fasten 70 the dress.
One solitaire diamond ring. high setting,
one solitaire diamond ring, high setting.
value SEQ
one ring with three diamonds, the largest in
the center, value S55.
one ring with thirty-two small cut diamonds
perfectly cut. with blue turquoise stone in GEN.
Ter, value $40.
One ring with nine diamonds, the largest In
the center. value $50.
one pesrI brooch pin lone Of the pearls was
cGt Of this pin), value SIS
A description of Madame Ruff" fol-
lows:
Age, sbout 81 years; height. 5 feet inches;
weight about lT5 pounds; good, sclid figure;
large, low bust: light brown, huffy hair. blue
eyes, fun face; gold crown right upper front
tooth; gold crown on one tooth, upper jaw,
right side; considerable gold filling in teeth;
small blue mark left side OF chin, and one
On right side OF nose near end docks like birth
mark; has large. coarse hands; has stylish
walk. Advertises herself as the noted German
and American clairvoyant and psychologist:
gives advice on business, speculation invest
. nent, love, etc.
Detectives believe the fugitive
woman and her husband are members
OF an organized gang of confidence
operators. They are trying to con-
meet the pair with Professor Anton
Weber and Mrs. Weber, clairvoyants,
who are charged with mulcting aged
> Frank Drew and his wife at San Jose
cut OF $1,000.