41. Typically the saltpeter would be sent to Lexington, Kentucky to be made into gunpowder. 42. Consumption of Chilean saltpeter for agriculture quickly grew and Chileans standard of living rose significantly. 43. No . Is there any place in the world where Saltpeter had any importance ?. 44. Saltpeter was hard to come by.45. Numerous saltpeter hoppers still inside the cave indicate that this was a relatively large mining operation. 46. White County was the site of a very large saltpeter mining operation during the Civil War. 47. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from caves.48. The county has several saltpeter mines. 49. Manson Saltpeter Cave in Big Indian Creek Valley was a smaller operation with four leaching vats. 50. Chilean and foreign enterprises in the region eventually extended their control to the Peruvian saltpeter works.
