This fascinating photograph from 1924 shows a police officer experimenting with a tool that moonshiners used to evade law enforcement during one of the most interesting periods in American history: Prohibition.

The object in the officer’s hands is a ‘cow shoe,’ a device that was specifically designed to disguise human footprints as animal tracks. Moonshiners, who were known for making illegal moonshine (a type of strong homemade whiskey), relied on these shoes to mislead police officers.

Prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, was a nationwide ban on the sale, production, and transportation of alcohol in the United States. Despite the ban, many people still found ways to produce and distribute alcohol illegally.

These moonshiners typically set up their operations deep in forests, fields, or other isolated locations to avoid being detected. However, the risk of being found was always high, so they had to come up with clever tricks to outsmart law enforcement officers who were constantly on the lookout for signs of human activity.

One of the most creative solutions they came up with was the use of these cow shoes. By wearing them, moonshiners could leave hoof-shaped prints, which made it seem like cows had passed through the area, rather than humans. This simple but ingenious method helped many bootleggers avoid arrest during this challenging period.

The efforts to catch these illegal distillers made the job of law enforcement much more difficult, and photos like this one serve as a reminder of how creative people can become when they’re trying to outsmart the system. Prohibition remains a significant chapter in American history, illustrating the lengths people will go to continue their way of life despite strict laws.

Article Sources: ARTOFIT