During the alcohol prohibition (1919-1933), the transportation and brewing/cultivation of alcohol was prohibited

During the alcohol prohibition (1919-1933), the transportation and brewing/cultivation of alcohol was prohibited. Some people who brewed Moonshine (a type of whiskey) did it in the middle of a forest or meadow. Moonshiners were often sought after by law enforcement.

A lot of times, authorities had to track the alleged criminals by foot. So to avoid capture, some moonshiners changed their shoes because a set of human footprints would be suspicious and indicative of people brewing or transporting alcohol. Specifically, they put on cow shoes.

Hoofprints were meant to make the cops never follow the tracks in the first place. Obviously, if they came across a still, they’d do something about it. But with hoof prints, the thought is that if the police encountered said prints, they’d think nothing of it, whereas if they encountered human footprints, they’d possibly follow them and ultimately discover a still.

A 1922 article from a now-defunct St. Petersburg, Florida newspaper called the Evening Independent carried a story about moonshiners wearing “cow shoes” to trick revenuers – rather than leaving suspicious footprints leading up to their secret stills, they’d leave innocent-looking hoofprints in the dirt and grass.

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