"When Richard “Sonny” Torres and Ray Briggs arrived at Holy Rosary Indian Mission in the fall of 1951 the first thing they did was to look for a way to escape.

They were city boys and looked at things a little differently than those of us that were reservation born and raised. For instance, when they saw the wire-meshed screen on the window in the big boy’s recreation room, they saw an exit to freedom. I saw it as just another window.

There was nothing spontaneous about the plan they hatched to escape. First they found a way to loosen the screws on the recreation room window. And then they chose a Sunday night to make their escape.

Taking advantage of their street-wise ways, they contacted their friend, Glen Three Stars, in Pine Ridge Village and set up a time and place for him to meet them with his car."

Get the Story:
Tim Giago: Running away from Holy Rosary Mission (The Native American Times 7/12)

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