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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What did Maclean and the others decide was one key point on the hillside they needed to locate?
(a) The true location of Hellman's marker.
(b) The opening in the reef through which Rumsey and Sallee escaped the fire.
(c) The exact spot at which Sylvia was found alive.
(d) The exact spot at which the Smokejumpers landed with their gear.

3. What were the only sensations the men running from the fire were aware of?
(a) Heat and futility.
(b) Heat and loneliness.
(c) Heat and starvation.
(d) Heat and thirst.

4. Who did Maclean meet who finally makes the connection for him to Robert Sallee?
(a) A policeman.
(b) A registrar.
(c) A French-Canadian nurse.
(d) A personnel director.

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

6. What emotion did Maclean believe was the last one felt by those still living when young people have died?
(a) Sadness.
(b) Pity.
(c) Confusion.
(d) Damnation.

7. 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 used his knife to make holes through which Hellman could drink the liquid.
(b) He had put a slit in the side of the can to allow Hellman to 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.

8. Who made the crosses that mark the spots the Smokejumpers fell, defeated by the fire?
(a) Wag Dodge and his crew.
(b) The Red Cross.
(c) The Smokejumpers in Missoula.
(d) The U.S. Forest Service.

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

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

11. Why did Laird Robinson stop smokejumping?
(a) He injured himself landing on a fire.
(b) He injured himself in a car accident.
(c) He injured himself while working in Missoula.
(d) He injured himself while hiking.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the Board of Review?

2. What happened to the Smokejumpers once they left Dodge and his escape fire?

3. What observation did Jansson and the doctor at the scene make about the final steps of the men who died on the hill?

4. Where did Maclean place the ashes of his wife Jessie when she died?

5. What did Maclean call the "No Man's Land" of the Mann Gulch fire?

(see the answer keys)

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