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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What observation did Jansson and the doctor at the scene make about the final steps of the men who died on the hill?
(a) They were dead before they fell to the ground.
(b) They fell and got up many times before dying.
(c) They fell and were instantly devoured by the fire.
(d) They fell, then rose and took a few steps, then fell again.

2. What is "Red Skies of Montana?"
(a) The new branch of the Smokejumpers.
(b) The name given to the Gates of the Mountains.
(c) A book written about the Mann Gulch Fire.
(d) A movie made about the Mann Gulch Fire.

3. What did Maclean call the "North Star that guides all arguments?"
(a) Hellman's cross.
(b) The top of the ridge.
(c) The location of Dodge's fire.
(d) The crevice in the ridge.

4. Who was Elmer Bloom?
(a) The movie producer.
(b) The announcer.
(c) The movie director.
(d) The Forest Service photographer.

5. What began to happen at Mann Gulch forty years later?
(a) Small animals had begun to return to the hillside.
(b) Small brush fires had begun to erupt along the ridge.
(c) Small trees had begun to grow along the gulches on the hillside.
(d) Small bushes had replaced scarred land along the hillside.

6. What promise did the Forest Service make to Maclean?
(a) That there will be bronze plaques attached to the crosses.
(b) That there will be no other study of the Mann Gulch fire.
(c) That the crosses will always be renewed.
(d) That trees will be planted on the ridge burned by the fire.

7. How did Maclean compare the fire at the top of the ridge to a snake?
(a) The fire slithered though the rocks using its tongue to cut through obstructions.
(b) The fire ran through the grass serpentine toward the top of the ridge.
(c) The fire shed itself onto grasses and trees like a snake shedding its skin.
(d) The fire slowly made its way along the ground lighting everything in its path.

8. Where did Maclean and his brother-in-law first go to view Mann Gulch?
(a) Down the Missouri River.
(b) Over the ridge climbed by Sallee and Rumsey.
(c) Through the mountain range.
(d) Up through the Gates of the Mountain.

9. When was the only time Smokejumpers were allowed to be alone while fighting a fire?
(a) As they fell to earth from the plane.
(b) As they made escape fires.
(c) As they dug trenches and holes.
(d) As they ate a meal.

10. What did the blowup and its fire rising out of Mann Gulch look like?
(a) An atomic explosion in Nevada on its way to Utah.
(b) An atomic explosion in Montana on its way to Nebraska.
(c) An atomic explosion as seen on television.
(d) An atomic explosion in a laboratory in Arizona.

11. To what did Maclean compare the fire lower on the hillside as it met the escape fire set by Dodge?
(a) Deranged military monsters enraged by the obstacle in front of them.
(b) Deranged mice running toward a mouse hole and hitting a wall.
(c) Deranged serpents searching for food.
(d) Deranged soldiers running blindly into the smoke and fire.

12. What is a gofer match?
(a) A small torch made by lighting rolled paper.
(b) A paper match pulled from a matchbook.
(c) A stick match pulled from a matchbox.
(d) A cigarette lighter.

13. What did Sallee and Rumsey say as they went up the last hillside?
(a) "My God, please let me live!"
(b) "My God, do not let me die this way!"
(c) "My God, why did this happen to me?"
(d) "My God, how could you do this to me?"

14. Who did the author reference when he compared ghosts and tragic heroes?
(a) Romeo from "Romeo and Juliet."
(b) Iago from "Othello."
(c) Hamlet from "Hamlet."
(d) Macduff from "Macbeth."

15. What did thinking about the struggle for oxygen that the Smokejumpers' experienced remind the author of?
(a) The importance of fire safety.
(b) The death of Hellman.
(c) The death of his wife.
(d) The birth experience.

Short Answer Questions

1. What common portrayal of death did Maclean believe did not occur for the Smokejumpers?

2. What time was recorded on the watch found near the bodies?

3. What were the emotions governing the Mann Gulch tragedy since it was first analyzed?

4. Who was Henry Thol, Sr.?

5. According to Sallee and Rumsey, toward the end of their run, how many times did the smoke part in order for them to see the top of the ridge?

(see the answer keys)

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