In order to complete their activities on time, moonshiners that lived in the Prohibition Era had to be very crafty. They had to be very creative with their work. But still, from time to time, the authorities tried to sniff them out. Therefore, as a solution to this issue, distillers and smugglers came up with a very clever solution. This is none other than cow shoes.
Cow shoes were truly a smart gateway vehicle for this issue. Instead of human footprints, these fancy footwear left hoofprints. We can’t think that any sane policeman would think about trailing behind hoofprints, as long as they came across an uncontrollable horse. An article from The Evening Independent, a 1922 Florida newspaper, reported on this new development.
The article states that A.L. Allen, who’s the state prohibition enforcement director, revealed a new way of evading prohibition agents. He introduces this thing as a “cow shoe”. This is a metal strip and to this, a wooden block is carved in a way that it resembles a cow’s hoof. When this is strapped to a human’s foot, they will be leaving a trail of a cow’s feet as they walk.
The shoe, which was discovered close to Port Tampa, will be sent to the Washington prohibition department. According to officers, the inventor of this footwear was probably inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story where the villain puts cow’s hoof-shaped shoes on his horse. So, what are your thoughts about this creation? Check out the article and share your thoughts with us in the comments!
