The herald., 1894-11-18
THE DEADLY FOLDING BED,
Miss Jeffreys Lewis Barely Es-
capes Death.
Her Life Was Saved by Her
Foot Alone.
She Was Imprisoned Fifteen Minutes
and Had given Up All Hope,
Whom q Watchmsn Camo 60
Her Assistance.


Miss Jeffreys Lewis, the actress came
very near being smothered to death in a
folding bed last Sunday evening, and the
details are thus told by the San Fran
cisco Examiner:
For several months past Miss Lewis
has made her home when in San Fran
cisco at the California hotel. The hotel
throughout is fitted up with handsome
folding beds of the latest approved fash.
ion. The wood is beautifully carved
and polished, the springs elastic, mat
tresses soft enough to delight the hearts
of the grandmothers OF olden times,
and the downiest of pillows invite to
luxurious al lumber.
On Sunday evening Miss Lewis pre-
pared to retire. Her head had barely
touched the pillows when the bed
sprung closed. Miss Lewis foot caught
between the sides Of the framework as
it rose and was held as in vice. The
little space thus afforded saved her from
suffocation. In vain she exerted all her
strength to push back the trescnerous
framework. She riigbt as we'll have
tried to move back peak OF the Sierras.
Powerless TO move, head downward,
with the blood coursing through her
veins like FIRE, and the sound of rushing
waters filling her ears, with strange
lighss flashing before her eyes, and a
thousand fancies crowding on her brain,
she vainly sought to call for help. For
more than quarter OF an hour, every
second OF which was fraught with horror
indescribable, che struggled in this way,
her voice smothered by the bed snd
reaching the outer air in succession of
weak cries.
Fifteen minutes of this misery hours
they seemed to the imprisoned woman
and finally some of the hotel people
thought they heard child wsiling and
crying. The sound continuing they went
to one of the rooms whore sick child
lay. only to find every thing quiet there.
It remained for the night watchman of
the hotel to locate the stified cries as
coming from Miss Lewis room.
Immediately there arose @ great COM
motion. The housekeeper was called
for and the door of Miss Lewis room
opened. but when the bed was seen to
be closed and this fearful moaning and
crying was heard issuing from it, the
housekeeper rushed wildly back into the
hall, eurmising what had happened and
shocked into dread of the very worst.
Cool heads soon appeared upon the
scene, and the framework of the bed
was lowered to the floor. Miss Lewis
was discovered in q semi-conscious
state, her her hair streaming in dis
order, her face white and drawn. Upon
regsining conBciousneHs. she went into
Mysteries.
Her naturally strong will and excel
lent recuperntive power, however, soon
reasserted their sway, and abs recovered
sufficiently to insist that medical aid
should not be summoned. But for one
little foot, which, though bruised. was
30 opportunity caught in the bed. the
wires ere this would have been flashing
the news of the death OF the once favor.
ite actress.
Miss Lewis, when seen yesterday,
showed very plainly that che had under.
gone a severe nervous shock. The
shadow still rested under her eyes. and
her pallor was in striking contrast to
the mass OF black hair coiled upon her
head.
"What were my feelings ?' she said,
bnlilh& intAb1ys 4dOJ WOIO III
descrlbable. l thought of every thing in
the world-past. present and future-of
the telegram chat would be sent to Mr..
Msinhall in New York, Of my mother.
of the many happy hours upon the
stage when success had crowned my
efforts. OF much that had happened in
dear old San Francisco, and then-the
thought of dying such horrible death.
l seemed to see it all before my eyes
even the bulletin boards around the city
with the notice, Tragic end OF we'll
known sctress Jeffreys Lewis suffo-
Gated in folding bed = And it seemed
such an ignominious close OF life that
shrieked and laughed at the horror OF
it. And then l must have lost con-
sciousness, for l remember nothing
more until found myself surrounded
by kind friends, and that horrible sense
of weight and sufocation removed"
Miss Lewis cannot tell just how the
accident occurred. but says that she sai
on the pillows OF the head OF the bed
to read while, as is her custom before
going to sleep. She had not yet settled
herself in comfortable position when
the bottom OF the bed sprang up and
she was a prisoner.
The hotel people say that an auto
matte snap lock holds the beds down
when they are lowered and that it il
i'm possible for the bed to close until the
lock is released. The probabilities, they
say, are that Miss Lewis failed to lower
the bed far enough for the lock to catch
and her weight on the head of the bet
caused the foot to spring up.