Manchester Railway when Lord Huskinson was killed, being crushed by the
wheels of the locomotive. At this time he saw the Duke of Wellington,
with other distinguished men, members of Parliament, and nobility. On
his return to America, he brought a machine for winding whip-stocks, the
first ever used in this country. The machine was subsequently
duplicated, and proved a valuable accession to the trade. He also
introduced some new materials, and enlarged the variety of fashions. In
other respects the manufacture was unchanged. The prosperity of the firm
had no serious checks; they had agencies for the sale of goods in
Boston, New York, New Orleans, and large orders came from other cities.
They bought materials for cash, so that when the commercial crash of
1837 carried disaster to multitudes, they survived. "We did not fail,"
said Mr. David, "for we owed no one anything, but we lost nearly all we
had by the failure of others." The result of this experiment was a
contraction of the system of credits and selling goods for cash or by
guaranteed commissions.

For many years, the manufacture of whips was the most important business
in Amherst. It gave employment to several persons and furnished the
means of support to ten or twelve families. The purchases of ivory,
whalebone, and other raw material, were usually made from first hands
and in such quantities as often gave the firm control of the market;
while in the style and workmanship of their handmade whips, they had few
competitors.

With the enlargement of their resources, Messrs. Melendy & David became
interested in other enterprises. They held real estate and buildings.
They bought shares in the railways which were finding their location in
New Hampshire. Mr. David belonged to the Board of Directors that laid
out and constructed the Northern Railroad. Subsequently this property