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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 fell and got up many times before dying.
(b) They fell and were instantly devoured by the fire.
(c) They were dead before they fell to the ground.
(d) They fell, then rose and took a few steps, then fell again.

2. What did Maclean's wife die from?
(a) Stomach cancer.
(b) Esophagal cancer.
(c) Lung cancer.
(d) Brain cancer.

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

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

5. Who is one of the best bibliographical references about the Mann Gulch fire available to Laird and Maclean?
(a) The postmistress of a nearby logging town.
(b) The Forest Service land office manager.
(c) The head librarian at the local library.
(d) The chief librarian at the New York City Library.

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

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

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

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

10. 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 stay close to the ground and have compassion for the young men who died.
(b) We should stay attuned to the possibily of fire in lightning storms.
(c) We should be careful while trying to summarize that fire and its effects on the gulch.
(d) We should be very careful not to put too much value in the trees growing now.

11. 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 their whole lives in review.
(d) To see the future.

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

13. Where did Bob Moore and Maclean discover they had both worked in their youths?
(a) Lochsa where the Missouri River enters the Gates of the Mountain.
(b) Lochsa where Moore was born.
(c) Lochsa where Lewis and Clark nearly starved to death.
(d) Lochsa where the Fish Creek fire took place.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Maclean say was evidence of the strength of the fire when it hit the Smokejumpers on the ridge?

2. What did Maclean believe were the final cries of the men who died on the ridge?

3. What was the one thought the Smokejumpers shared as they ran from the fire?

4. As an old man, what did the author hope to receive by his study of the Mann Gulch fire?

5. Why did Laird Robinson stop smokejumping?

(see the answer keys)

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