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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. After Smokejumpers are dropped on a fire, what time do they say the fire will be put out?
(a) Ten hours after they land.
(b) By noon the next day.
(c) By ten o'clock the next morning.
(d) Twenty four hours after they reach the fire.

2. What year is generally seen as the beginning of modern scientific study of fire behavior?
(a) 1946.
(b) 1918.
(c) 1946.
(d) 1922.

3. What were the emotions governing the Mann Gulch tragedy since it was first analyzed?
(a) Fear and anger.
(b) Fear and disgust.
(c) Fear and pity.
(d) Fear and longing.

4. In Maclean's mind, what did the Ponderosa pines look like during the fire?
(a) Giant candles burning for the dead.
(b) Giant traffic signs in the middle of fire whirl traffic.
(c) Giant trees standing firm against the match of fire.
(d) Giant sign posts for the rescuers.

5. What common portrayal of death did Maclean believe did not occur for the Smokejumpers?
(a) To see their whole lives in review.
(b) To see the future.
(c) To see the people they love.
(d) To see the people waiting for them in Heaven.

6. What did Maclean and the others agree was the second key point on the hillside they needed to locate?
(a) The spot where the fire blew up.
(b) The spot where Dodge had started his fire.
(c) The spot where Henry Thol, Jr. fell.
(d) The spot where Diettert left Rumsey and Sallee.

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

8. How did Maclean explain the change in the world after compassionately studying the fire at Mann Gulch?
(a) Moving from a "hearing world" to a "feeling world" by learning from the past.
(b) Moving from a "seeing world" to a "feeling world" for the pain of others.
(c) Moving from a "feeling world" to a "comprehending world" for the loss of the Smokejumpers.
(d) Moving from a "seeing world" to a "hearing world" by understanding the terrifying sounds of fire.

9. When did the investigative committee that the chief forester assembled arrive in Mann Gulch?
(a) August 9.
(b) August 10.
(c) August 19.
(d) August 5.

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

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

12. What did Maclean call the "No Man's Land" of the Mann Gulch fire?
(a) The point at which the men can see no escape from the fire.
(b) The point at which the fire becomes a blowup.
(c) The point at which the fire was fifty yards behind the men running in semidarkness.
(d) The point at which the men can run niether forward nor backward.

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was Hal Samsel?

2. Who made the crosses that mark the spots the Smokejumpers fell, defeated by the fire?

3. Who is one of the best bibliographical references about the Mann Gulch fire available to Laird and Maclean?

4. When did Maclean begin his research on the Mann Gulch fire?

5. When did Wag Dodge die?

(see the answer keys)

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