Chapter 13 -- I Nearly Drowned at Salaman River, Due to Strong Water Currents from the Mountains

I will never forget, the day I nearly drowned at Salaman river, in Libak, Cotabato.

We were in school that morning. We have participated in our class discussion in history and literature¸ early in the day.

Then, at 10:40 we were off. I think, our teacher was going for some school works somewhere. We were freed from our class that morning. One of my friends made a proposal. “ Since,  we have no classes until 1.30 pm,   let’s go swimming. Salaman River is just near, about a kilometer away. We will go and  swim  until 12:00 noon. Then we eat lunch. And go back at 1:30 PM to attend our classes.

 We proceeded to Salaman river. We were five close friends. But today, I cannot remember anymore their names Even their images we’re now unclear. That was many years ago. In 1952. It was my first year in high school. I have arrived in Mindanao about 2 ½ months before.

We always carry our lunch box.  Most of us lived a bit far from school. We started our walk to Salaman river. It was a new venture for me. I will join my friends swimming in the river. Salaman River was about 1 ½ kilometers from our school. I have never took a bath or swam in a river, with waters coming  from the mountains.

In Carles we swam in the beach. There were no rivers with waters moving down to the sea. I have only swam in the sea. There, when the sea was calm, and there were no high or low tides, their was little  sea current.

Salaman River was a wide and long river that came down from the east and flow down to the sea in the west. I did not knew where the river originates. But I could see the river up on the mountains far away. And I never knew where it passes until it reached the sea. Above the mountain ranges, we only saw the vast and virgin forests. Along the way, I saw Salaman River was covered with virgin forests. The river’s sides were covered with lush and big timbers.

There were also bamboos growing on the river banks. On some sides of the mountain, there were trees that were cut and burned by kaingeros.

Some rattan vines were hanging on the trees on both sides of the river. But the rattan were high. The river was beautiful. It was about 100 meters wide. But the water was only on the middle of the river. It was about 50 meters wide. On the side were beautiful and clean sands.

The water was very clear. And it was moving softly down. It was sweetly inviting me to take a bath. To go swimming.

One of my Muslim classmates called up. “ Boys here we are! What were you waiting! Come! Take off your clothes. Time now for swimming.”

We took off our clothes and throw them on the sand. I lay on the sand.

“I crawled to the water. The water was very cold. We took a bath. The water was clear and fresh. I looked at the water. I saw my image under the water. I stood on the water about waist deep. I sat down on the water. I knew a little swimming. For in Carles, Iloilo, I swam on the sea water on our seashores. I have never experienced swimming on the river, sometimes  with strong current down the river.”

My four classmates were playing on the water. Two of my classmates were Christians. Two were Muslims. We were very close friends.

I think, they were all good swimmers, specially the Muslims. They were playing on the water. One was on the shoulders of the other. They were in  a duel. One  fall  down on the water. But  he moved fast and on the shoulder of the other again. They went on on their duel of strength.

While they were playing: “ I swam to the middle of the river. I did not know that the current was strong. I realized the strength of the river current, when I was carried down the river very fast. When I tried to stand, my foots were not able to reach the sand. I was carried by the moving water. The current was strong and moving down fast.

I struggled to swim back to the river bank. “But, I was carried fast by the running water down the river. I shouted. Help me. Help me. But, my friends did not hear me. I waved my hands. Hoping my friends will see me. If they do not see me, I will be carried by the water down the river. I panicked. I am now carried helplessly down the river. I whispered a prayer. ‘Lord, please help me.’”

I was now about 200 hundred meters away from where my classmates where playing.
While I was carried by the water, I saw my friends running down the river. They saw me carried by the current. They run fast, to nearly 200 hundred meters from were we I was They tried to cordon the river, making sure they will reached me when, I passed by, carried  by the water current.

About a 50 meters away, I saw big bunch of uprooted bamboos, on the middle of the river. Only the roots were left, with a few bamboo stems growing at the side. As I passed, I grabbed the bamboo stem, and was able to hold on it. I hold on it and slowly reached for the protruding bamboo about 1 meter long. I hold on it and climbed the uprooted bamboos. I thanked God. I was saved. I saw, down the river, big stones where some broken woods where smashed by the river currents.

My friends saw me on the top of the  uprooted bamboo trunks. I was able to climbed it and saved myself.

Alone, I would not be able to return to the bank. But my classmates worked together to help me. My two Muslim classmates went down the water which was about three meters deep. My two Christian classmates stood on their shoulders under the water.

I leaped to the shoulders of my Christian friend who used all his strength  to   throw me to the side of the river where the water was shallow. I sat for a few minutes on the sand. I was still speechless. I was trembling but my fears have slowly gone. We celebrated our experiences that morning. We eat our lunch, which we brought with fresh drinking water. Then we went back to school. We arrived about 1:30 PM.

Since then, I have  developed a very high regards for my Muslims and Catholic  classmates. Years later, when I was studying at Lyceum of the Philippines, my room mate, was a Muslim. He was working with the Media Center, near our boarding house in Intramuros, Manila. We became friends.

Every morning, he put his mat on the floor kneel down  and pray. And in the evening, when he returned from work, he placed his mat again on the floor, kneel down and pray. That was part of the hard discipline of Muslims and their faith. Looking at him, I thought, he was just like my Muslim classmates who helped me in Salaman river, many years go.

My 4 classmates told our teachers and classmates what happened. They said I was carried by the strong current. But, they said,  I saved myself. They just helped me  get out of the deep river. This experiences remained fresh in my mind. I never forgot it. And I never told my father and my uncles about it. The fears I experienced when I was carried helplessly  by the river current down Salaman river, lived fresh in my memory.

And always, I remember the short prayer I prayed God when I was carried helpless by the water current. down Salaman River. "Lord,, please help  me."