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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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 was fifty yards behind the men running in semidarkness.
(c) The point at which the men can run niether forward nor backward.
(d) The point at which the fire becomes a blowup.

2. What sculptor's piece stands at the University of Chicago commemorating the Atomic Age?
(a) Heindrick Gustav.
(b) Malcolm Miller.
(c) Albert Camus.
(d) Henry Moore.

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

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

5. 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 melted the soles of their shoes.
(c) It blew the clothes off of their bodies.
(d) It blew the watches from their wrists.

6. How did Maclean see the change in our point of view when studying the Mann Gulch fires, now that we know more about the fire?
(a) We should be careful while trying to summarize that fire and its effects on the gulch.
(b) We should stay attuned to the possibily of fire in lightning storms.
(c) We should stay close to the ground and have compassion for the young men who died.
(d) We should be very careful not to put too much value in the trees growing now.

7. To what does a woodsman look for both the questions and their answers?
(a) The grasses.
(b) The ground.
(c) The sky.
(d) The trees.

8. 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?
(a) Many times.
(b) Once.
(c) Two or three times.
(d) Four or five times.

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

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

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

12. 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, deliver us."
(d) "Good Lord, be my shepherd."

13. 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 Hellman actually fell.
(c) Where Diettert died.
(d) Where Thol's marker should actually be.

14. At the end of his life, what did Maclean consider the ultimate drive of the human spirit?
(a) To die in peace.
(b) To continue doing what we last hoped to do on earth.
(c) To escape death at any cost.
(d) To cry out for compassion.

15. 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 take off the top of the can for Hellman to have food and water.
(c) He had not opened the can because it was dented on the bottom.
(d) He had used his knife to make holes through which Hellman could drink the liquid.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Maclean and his party land their boat to begin their trip to Mann Gulch?

2. How did Maclean compare the death of his wife and the death of the Smokejumpers?

3. What promise did the Forest Service make to Maclean?

4. What feeling did the Smokejumpers share with all other youth their age?

5. What does "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani" mean?

(see the answer keys)

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