The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1918-11-13
TELLS PEOPLE OF
THEIR SOLDIERS
LANDS IN JAIL
DEMENTED MAN TOLD BIG STOR-
les OF PROWESS AS AVIATOR
IN THE BRITISH SERVICE.

Undersheriff Mark Hoppough was
in the city Wednesday of last week
and while here picked up fellow Civ
ing the name of Gordon Ashrnan, who
had been visiting The l.mes oe pep
pie in Ionia, whose sons or other close
relatives are in the service overseas
and telling them that he had just re-
turned from the war zone and that
he had talked with their boys over
there and that they had asked hm to
hunt up the home folks when he reach
ed here and tell them all about it.
After working number of Ionia peo-
pie with such stories Ashman came
to Belding. just in time to give the
sheriff's office the slip in Ionia and
then his mania for pulling such crazy
stunts returned to him and he came
to Belding.
He called on Mrs. Florence West
and told her that he had visited with
her son, Floyd Pierson and that
Floyd had asked him to come and see
his mother. He also visited numer-
Gus other people in this city and spun
off a yarn of about the same nature.
In each case the talk was so big
that it was seemingly unbelievable,
but the home folks while entertaining
some suspicion as to the veracity of
the tales, were still glad to see some
one who carried a personal message
from their sons over there.
Ashman told of some of the wonder
full souvenirs which the local boys had
secured from Germans whom they had
taken prisoner. He said that one
local boy had jackknife one foot long
which had 100 blades to it. Some
other imaginary trophies were de-
scribed as being in the possession of
the boys over there and which they
were going to bring home with them
when they came.
Ashman, while dressed in civilian
clothing, claimed to have been in the
British aviation service and stated he
had captured hundreds of prisoners
himself and that he had taken 66
watches away from as many prison
ers. These watches he glowingly
described as some of the most re-
markable works which one could
imagine. When asked where they
were at present. he stated that the
authorities at Washington had refus-
ed to let him bring them inland but
that he would some day get them and
then he would bring them to this city
Tor WlnuOW display In local store.
He also stated that he had hundreds
of rings which he had taken from off
the hands of dead German soldiers.
He claimed that ne would swoop down
from the sky in his airplane directly
after battle and take rings from off
the fingers of dead Germans. He
said that he sometimes had to do this
work m a hurry and that if the rings
came off rather hard, that he would
take out his knife and cut the finger
and all off and he claimed that many
of these rings still had the fingers
sticking in them, owing to the fact
that he had not as yet had the time
to take them out
A Ionia Ashman was examined and
it was found out that he had at one
time been detained on account Of his
sanity, and while waiting for an op-
GRAFTON to help him regain his mental
faculties again. that he skipped out
and had been able to elude the officers
who had been hunting him ever since.
Ashman claimed to hail from some
place between Lansing and jackson.