The New York Times called 28-year old Ruth Law, “A hundred and twenty pounds of pluck” in her multi-record setting flight from Chicago to Fort Jay on Governors Island, in New York Harbor on November 20, 1916. By sight and compass, she flew in the open seat of a nearly obsolete airplane in frigid weather. Without an expected tail wind, she landed short, out of gas in Hornell, New York, still setting a American non-stop aviation distance record of 590 miles in 5:45 hours. The next day, encountering stiff wind, clouds and fog forcing her to fly at treetop level over the Allegany mountains to the Hudson River. With New York City in sight, her engine began to sputter. Several times she would nose up the plane to fuel the engine, then glide down until she needed to feed it again. One last ascent and a wide turn over New Jersey lined her up for a one-shot chance of glide-in landing on the only open space in the city. She did so on fumes, barely avoiding the Army band waiting to greet her.