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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was the Board of Review?
(a) The board appointed by the president to study smokejumping.
(b) The board appointed by the governor to investigate Thol.
(c) The board appointed by the Forest Service to review the fire.
(d) The board appointed by Jansson to learn the truth about the fire.

2. Why did Maclean write what he called his "fire report?"
(a) To appease Robinson, Laird, Sallee and Rumsey.
(b) To prove to Henry Thol, Sr. that the death of his son was no one's fault.
(c) To enlarge his knowledge and accompany the men whose lives he might have lived.
(d) To find the answer to the mystery of the fire.

3. What words are in the Common Book of Prayer that beg to not die of sudden death?
(a) "Good Lord, be my shepherd."
(b) "Good Lord, watch over us."
(c) "Good Lord, help us."
(d) "Good Lord, deliver us."

4. Where did Maclean and his party land their boat to begin their trip to Mann Gulch?
(a) At the foot of the Gates of the Mountain.
(b) At the base of Fields Gulch.
(c) At the entrance to Merriweather Canyon.
(d) At the mouth of Rescue Gulch.

5. What did Laird and Maclean realize early in their investigation of the Mann Gulch fire?
(a) They needed Rumsey and Sallee with them at the site of the fire.
(b) They needed assistance from the Forest Service at the site of the fire.
(c) They needed to find all of the firefighters who rescued the survivors.
(d) They needed the Thol family at the site of the fire.

6. What did Maclean believe the atomic mushroom to be a symbol of in the 20th century?
(a) A symbol of the future of science.
(b) A symbol of our inner fear of the explosive power of the universe.
(c) A symbol of everything wrong with governmental agencies such as the Forest Service.
(d) A symbol of American supremacy in firefighting.

7. Where did Maclean first go in the hopes of finding Robert Sallee?
(a) A sawmill in Portland.
(b) The University of Montana-Butte.
(c) The personnel office of the Bank of America.
(d) A paper mill near Missoula.

8. When on the ridge in Mann Gulch, what did Maclean witness Sallee and Rumsey argue about?
(a) Where Dodge had lit his fire.
(b) Where Thol's marker should actually be.
(c) Where Hellman actually fell.
(d) Where Diettert died.

9. What did Maclean say was evidence of the strength of the fire when it hit the Smokejumpers on the ridge?
(a) It singed the hair on their heads.
(b) It blew the clothes off of their bodies.
(c) It blew the watches from their wrists.
(d) It melted the soles of their shoes.

10. What date did Maclean, Robinson, Sallee, and Rumsey agree to meet and visit Mann Gulch?
(a) June 8, 1976.
(b) July 1, 1978.
(c) June 3, 1978.
(d) July 4, 1976.

11. What time was recorded on the watch found near the bodies?
(a) Four minutes to six.
(b) Three forty-five.
(c) Twenty minutes to ten.
(d) Nine thirty.

12. How did Rumsey verify that the tin can of potatoes the men found near Hellman's marker was the same one left there after the fire?
(a) He had put a slit in the side of the can to allow Hellman to drink the liquid.
(b) He had used his knife to make holes through which Hellman could drink the liquid.
(c) He had not opened the can because it was dented on the bottom.
(d) He had used his knife to take off the top of the can for Hellman to have food and water.

13. 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.

14. What did Maclean believe the Smokejumpers had accomplished spiritually at the time of their deaths?
(a) Unite with earth, fire, and the sky.
(b) Asking for understanding.
(c) Praying to their gods.
(d) Unite with lost ones.

15. What was one of many reasons Maclean thought Henry Thol, Sr. should be proud of his son?
(a) His son carried a picture of his family with him.
(b) His son died while protecting another man.
(c) His son was the closest man to the top of the ridge.
(d) His son was not alone when he died.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Bob Moore and Maclean discover they had both worked in their youths?

2. What time did Dodge's watch say when he rose from the ashes of his own fire?

3. What does Maclean consider a natural reaction near the end of a fire story?

4. When did the investigative committee that the chief forester assembled arrive in Mann Gulch?

5. What did Maclean and the others decide was one key point on the hillside they needed to locate?

(see the answer keys)

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