CHAPTER II.
THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY.
Value of the Territory Discovered .-- Fate of Hudson .-- The Conspiracy .-- Aspect of Manhattan Island .-- The Trail which has Widened into Broadway .-- The Opening Commerce .-- The Fur Trade .-- Visit of the English Man of War .-- Exploring the Sound .-- Commercial Enterprise Receives a New Stimulus .-- Erection of Forts .-- Character of the Fur Trade.
The Half Moon was detained in England eight months, and did not reach Amsterdam until the summer of 1610.

The Dutch Directors, though disappointed in not finding in the region they had explored the much hoped-for Northwest Passage to the Indies, were somewhat elated by the magnificent discoveries which had been made.

The territory they claimed, by virtue of these discoveries, extended from the mouth of the Delaware on the South, to Cape Cod on the Northeast.

The grand river of Canada, the St.Lawrence, was deemed its northern frontier.
Its western boundaries were unexplored and unknown.
This was indeed a princely territory to be owned by any power.

The climate was as favorable as any to be found upon the globe.