4-61 
 
 
 (Xa^cL 
 
 c*£ ^eA^f %<yis4s*" 
 
Glass 
 Book 
 
 5 KA 
 
 :k 
 
 »o 
 
 JLX, 
 
 
GAME AND FISH LAWS 
 
 AND 
 
 FOREST PROTECTIVE ACTS 
 
 OF 
 
 WEST VIRGINIA 
 
 An Act of the Legislature of 1921. 
 
 Printed by 
 Game and Pish Commission of West 
 
 Virginia 
 Headquarters: Charleston, W. Va. 
 
 Members: 
 
 G. O. Young, Chairman, Buckhannon, W. Va. 
 
 A. F. Francis, Mound sville, W. Va. 
 
 C. A. Cabell, Carbon, W. Va. 
 
GAME AND FISH LAWS 
 
 AND 
 
 FOREST PROTECTIVE ACTS 
 
 OF 
 
 WEST VIRGINIA 
 
 An Act of the Legislature of 1921. 
 
 Printed by 
 Game and Fish Commission of West 
 
 Virginia 
 Headquarters: Charleston, \V. Va. 
 
 Members: 
 
 G. 0. Young, Chairman, Buckhannon, W. Va. 
 
 A. F. Fkancis, Moundsville, W. Va. 
 
 C. A. Cabell, Carbon, W. Va. 
 

 TRIBUNE PRINTING CO., CHARLESTON, W. VA. 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 RECEIVED 
 
 JUN 301922 
 
 DOOWMENTS DiVtolOf* 
 
 r 1 
 
DON'T FORGET 
 
 It is unlawful for any person over fifteen 
 years of age to hunt or fish without a 
 license to be procured from the county clerk. 
 Cost of license to residents, one dollar; to 
 non-residents, fifteen dollars. 
 
 It is unlawful to hunt on enclosed or im- 
 proved lands of another without the written 
 consent of the owner or agent. 
 
 It is unlawful for any person not a citizen 
 of the United States to hunt, catch or kill 
 any wild game animals, wild game birds or 
 wild game fowl or have in his possession fire 
 arms for such purpose or fish for fish, frogs 
 or turtles. 
 
 It; is unlawful for any unnaturalized for- 
 eign-born resident of the State to own or 
 keep a dog of any kind in this state. 
 
 Tljiat you cannot hunt the various birds 
 and animals or catch any fish except during 
 the periods which are set out below: 
 
 Elk — No person except the owner shall 
 kill any elk in this State for a period of ten 
 years or until 1923. 
 
 Deer — No person except the owner shall 
 hunt or kill any deer in this State until 
 October 15, 1923. No person shall hunt or 
 kill deer with dogs in this State at any 
 time. 
 
4 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 Wild Turkeys — Lawful to kill same be- 
 tween October 15 and December 1. Unlawful 
 to kill same at night or to kill more than 
 one turkey in one day or four in one season. 
 Persons required to report number killed to 
 Game and Fish Commission. 
 
 Ruffed Grouse — Lawful to hunt same be- 
 tween October 15 and December 1, but unlaw- 
 ful to kill more than four in one day or 
 twenty in one year. 
 
 Quail or Partridge — Lawful to hunt same 
 between November 1 and December 1, but 
 unlawful to kill more than ten in one day 
 or sixty in one year. 
 
 Wild Duck, Goose or Brant — Lawful to 
 hunt same between October 15 and January 
 1. 
 
 Woodcock — Lawful to hunt same between 
 October 15 and November 30. 
 
 Plover, Ortolan or Sandpiper — Lawful to 
 hunt same between September 16 and Decem- 
 ber 31. 
 
 Snipe — Lawful to hunt same between 
 October 15 and December 15. 
 
 Gray, Black, Fox and Red Squirrel — Law- 
 ful to hunt same between September 1 and 
 December 1. No person shall kill more than 
 eight squirrels in one day or sixty in one 
 season. 
 
 Frogs — Unlawful to hunt frogs between 
 April 1 and June 1. 
 
Forest, Game and Pish Laws 5 
 
 Rabbits — Lawful to hunt same between 
 October 1 and January 1. 
 
 Polecat or Skunk — Unlawful to kill same 
 between February 1 and December 1. 
 
 Jack Salmon, Jack Fish or White Salmon 
 — Unlawful to fish for same between April 
 1 and May 30. 
 
 Trout or Land lock Salmon — Unlawful to 
 fish for same between August 1 and May 1. 
 
 Bass, Pickerel or Pike — Unlawful to fish 
 for same between April 1 and May 30. 
 
 Section 1. Creates Game and Fish 
 Commission. 
 
 (a) The game and fish commission of 
 West Virginia, to be composed of three com- 
 petent citizens of this state who shall be 
 appointed by the governor, no two of whom 
 shall be residents of the same senatorial 
 district, is hereby created. When this act 
 takes effect, the governor shall appoint one 
 member thereof for the term of three years 
 from the first day of July one thousand nine 
 hundred and twenty-one, one member there- 
 of for the term of two years from said date, 
 and one member thereof for the term of one 
 year from said date, and thereafter the gov- 
 ernor shall each year appoint a member for 
 the full term of three years as the terms 
 of such commissioners shall expire, except 
 where appointment is made to fill a vacancy. 
 
6 Forest, Game and Pish Laws 
 
 A vacancy in said commission shall be filled 
 by appointment by the governor for the 
 unexpired term. All appointments so made 
 shall be with the advice and consent of the 
 senate, except where otherwise provided by 
 law. 
 
 (b) The governor may remove any mem- 
 ber for incompetency, neglect of duty, gross 
 immorality or malfeasance in office. 
 
 (c) The commissioners shall receive no 
 salary or other compensation for their ser- 
 vices, but shall be allowed and paid their 
 actual necessary expenses in traveling and 
 other personal expenses incurred in the per- 
 formance of their duties; provided, that in 
 no case shall such total amount so allowed 
 for traveling and other personal expenses 
 exceed in any one year the sum of fifteen 
 hundred dollars for all of said commission- 
 ers. No expense account shall be paid unles 
 a statement of the items thereof together 
 with the time of expenditure and the person 
 or persons by whom expended shall be cer- 
 tified by at least two of the members of 
 the commission to be a true statement of 
 money actually expended, at the times de- 
 signated, for traveling and other personal 
 expenses in the performance of duty as 
 such commissioners. 
 
 (d) The commission shall maintain an 
 office at the capital of the state and shall 
 hold regular meetings at such office on the 
 
Forest, Game and Pish Laws 7 
 
 first Thursdays of January, April, July and 
 October, and may hold special meetings at 
 such times and places in said state as it may 
 deem necessary. Such special meetings may 
 be called either by the chairman or by any 
 two members, by giving reasonable notice 
 thereof to each member. 
 
 (e) The commission shall have power 
 and authority to appoint a chief game pro- 
 tector and additional other competent men 
 who shall be designated game protectors, 
 each of whom shall hold office at the pleas- 
 ure of the commission, and the commission 
 may, at its discretion, with or without cause, 
 summarily remove any person appointed by 
 it and fill such vacancy so created by re- 
 moval. The commission shall fix the salary 
 to be paid to the chief game protector and 
 the compensation of said game protectors 
 but the chief game protector shall not be 
 paid a yearly salary of more than the sum 
 of three thousand dollars, exclusive of his 
 expenses. The commission may rent an 
 office adequate for its purposes, furnish the 
 same, secure necessary supplies for the keep- 
 ing of its records and the conduct of its 
 business, and may employ, with the right of 
 removal aforesaid, one person to act as 
 clerk at said office, at a salary of not more 
 than two thousand dollars a year, and a 
 stenographer at not more than fifteen hun- 
 dred dollars per year. 
 
8 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 (f) The commission shall, in addition to 
 the duties hereinafter specifically pre- 
 scribed, have entire charge, control and 
 supervision of the conservation, protection, 
 propagation and distribution of the fish, 
 frogs, wild animals, and the wild birds and 
 fowl of the state, the conduct, control, oper- 
 ation and management of all state wild 
 birds, wild fowl or wild game farms, re- 
 serves and refuges, and fish hatcheries and 
 reserves and refuges, and all other fish, frog, 
 wild game, wild bird and fowl, plants and 
 places now or hereafter to be established in 
 the state for the propagation and protection 
 of fish, frogs, wild game and wild birds and 
 fowl; supervise and direct the granting and 
 the cancellation or revocation of all game 
 and fish, hunting or other licenses, provided 
 by this chapter to be granted, and the pay- 
 ment, collection and expenditure of all 
 moneys derived from said licenses, and 
 otherwise collected or appropriated for the 
 operation of the game and fish department; 
 supervise and direct and have charge of the 
 enforcement of all laws enacted for the 
 propagation, preservation, conservation, pro- 
 tection and distribution, or in relation to 
 the pursuit, hunting, catching, capturing 
 and killing of the fish, frogs, the wild am 
 mals, the wild birds, and the wild fowl of 
 the state; and do and perform all acts and 
 things expressly provided or implied to be 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 9 
 
 done by the commission under the provis- 
 ions of this act or by law. 
 
 (g) The commission shall keep records 
 of all its acts and doings in relation to its 
 duties and it shall preserve the same at its 
 office, and shall make report to the governor 
 on not later than the 10th day of December 
 of each year, or oftener if required by the 
 governor, of the conduct of its affairs during 
 said current year, including a statement of 
 receipts and disbursements and such recom- 
 mendations as the commission may desire to 
 make in relation to the matters within its 
 duties and purposes. The commission shall 
 choose yearly at the first meeting held after 
 the thirty-first day of May, a chairman who 
 shall be such for one year from the said 
 thirty-first day of May of each year, or until 
 his successor shall be elected and qualified 
 in his stead. 
 
 (h) The commission shall keep its rec- 
 ords and books in the manner to be pre- 
 scribed by the public accounting department 
 of the state, and shall submit the same to 
 said accounting department for inspection 
 at such time as said accounting department 
 may require. 
 
 (i) The commissioners shall each give 
 bond in the sum of two thousand dollars, 
 and in case surety companies execute the 
 same the premiums therefor shall be paid 
 out of the funds of the commission, for the 
 
10 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 faithful performance and discharge of their 
 duties as commissioners, and the commis- 
 sioners, chief game protector and the game 
 protectors shall each give, sign and execute 
 a written oath of office in form to be pre- 
 scribed by the attorney general of this state 
 before entering upon the performance of 
 their duties. The written oath of office may 
 be administered to the chief game protector 
 and game protectors by any commissioner 
 or any other person authorized by law to 
 administer oaths, and all said written obli- 
 gations shall be returned to and filed with 
 the commission. 
 
 Section 2. Chief Game Protectors, 
 Duties, etc. 
 
 (a) The chief game protector and the 
 game protectors and all other officers of the 
 state of West Virginia, while engaged in the 
 enforcement of the provisions of this act, 
 shall be under the supervision and direction 
 of the commission. The chief game protec- 
 tor and the game protectors shall have full 
 power and authority to execute and serve 
 any warrant, notice or any process of law 
 issued under this act or any law enacted 
 relating to the game, the fish, the frogs, the 
 wild birds and wild fowl, and the game ani- 
 mals and forests, issued by any justice of 
 the peace or by any court having jurisdiction 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 11 
 
 thereof, in the same manner and 'with the 
 same power and authority and to and with 
 the same legal effect as any constable or 
 sheriff can serve or execute such warrant, 
 notice or process; may arrest on sight, with- 
 out a warrant or other court process, any 
 person or persons detected by them in the 
 violation of any of the provisions of this act 
 or of any law of this state relating to the 
 game, the fish, frogs, wild birds and fowl 
 and the game animals and the forests; and 
 said chief game protector and game pro- 
 tectors under the supervision and direc- 
 tion of said commission, shall do all things 
 necessary to properly carry into effect the 
 provisions of this act 
 
 (b) The sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and con- 
 stables in the several counties of the state 
 shall be, within their respective jurisdiction, 
 game protectors, and in like manner the 
 police officers of any city shall be, within 
 their jurisdiction, game protectors, and 
 members of the department of public safety, 
 hereinafter called state police, each vested 
 within his respective jurisdiction, with all 
 the powers and authority of game protec- 
 tors, but no oath shall be required of said 
 sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, constables, state 
 police or police officers, and each shall, when 
 making an arrest or executing other court 
 process under the provisions of this chapter, 
 make report of the same to the commission. 
 
12 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 (c) The chief game protector and game 
 protectors, including said sheriffs, deputy 
 sheriffs, constables, state police and police 
 officers, while engaged in the enforcement of 
 any of the provisions of this act, shall have 
 the power, in manner provided by law, to 
 search and examine any boat, vehicle, auto- 
 mobile, conveyance, express or railroad cars, 
 fish box, fish buckets or creel, game bag or 
 game coat, or any other receptacle in which 
 game birds, game animals or fish or frogs 
 could be packed, concealed or, conveyed, 
 whenever they have reason to believe that 
 they will thereby secure or discover evi- 
 dence of the violation of any provision of 
 this act, and the said officers shall have, in 
 manner provided by law, the same right to 
 execute a search warrant as is now conferred 
 upon sheriffs in their respective counties. 
 
 (d) The authority and powers and du- 
 ties of the chief game protector and game 
 protectors shall be state wide and after they 
 are appointed as such, each can obtain from 
 the circuit court of the county of his resi- 
 dence, a license to carry a pistol or revol- 
 ver, by giving bond in the sum of thirty- 
 five hundred dollars, conditioned as provid- 
 ed in section seven of chapter one hundred 
 and forty-eight of the code, and no notice or 
 other application, except the presentation of 
 his commission as such game protector shall 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 13 
 
 be required of him before such license is 
 granted. 
 
 (e) Any of the officers herein mentioned, 
 whose duty it is to enforce provisions of 
 this act, shall have the same rights and pow- 
 ers as sheriffs have in their respective 
 counties to summon aid in making arrests, 
 s&izures or executing any warrants, notices 
 or court process. 
 
 (f) The commission may cause com- 
 plaints to be made and proceedings to be in- 
 stituted and prosecuted against any viola- 
 tors under this chapter, without the sanction 
 of the prosecuting attorney of the county 
 wherein such proceedings are instituted, and 
 in all such cases no security for costs shall 
 be required of the commission. The commis- 
 sion may employ an attorney to represent 
 it in any prosecution under this act, and 
 in such case there shall be taxed as costs, 
 in case of conviction, the sum of ten dollars 
 in each case, in addition to the usual amount 
 lawfully taxed, and which ten dollars shall 
 be for the benefit of and paid to said attor- 
 ney as and for his compensation. 
 
 (g) The commission shall have the right 
 to offer and pay, in its discretion, rewards 
 for information respecting the violation or 
 for the apprehension and conviction of any 
 violators, of any of the provisions of this 
 act. 
 
14 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 (h) Any person who hinders, obstructs 
 or interferes with, or attempts to hinder, 
 obstruct or interfere with, the game and fish 
 commission, or any member thereof, or any 
 game protector, or any other officer named 
 herein in the performance of his duties, 
 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor 
 and upon conviction shall be fined not less 
 than fifty and not more than two hundred 
 dollars, or may be confined in jail not more 
 than six months, for each offense, or, in 
 the discretion of the court may be both fined 
 and imprisoned within the limitation afore- 
 said. 
 
 Section 3. Ownership and Title to Wild 
 Game, etc. 
 
 The ownership of, and the title to, all 
 wild game, wild birds, both resident and 
 migratory, and all fishes and frogs in the 
 state of West Virginia, are hereby declared 
 to be in the state, and no such game, birds, 
 or fishes or frogs shall be taken or killed in 
 any manner, or at any time, except the per- 
 son so taking or killing the same, shall con- 
 sent that the title thereto shall be and re- 
 main in the state of West Virginia, for the 
 purpose of regulating the use and disposi- 
 tion of the same after such taking or kill- 
 ing. The taking or killing of wild game 
 birds or fishes or frogs at any time or In any 
 manner or by any person, shall be deemed a 
 
 ' 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 15 
 
 consent of such person that the title thereto 
 shall be and remain in the state, for the pur- 
 pose of regulating the use, and disposition 
 of the same. 
 
 Section 4. Persons Required to Have 
 License. 
 
 No person not a citizen of the United 
 States of America shall at any time hunt, 
 pursue, kill or catch any wild game animals, 
 or wild game birds or wild game fowl 'in 
 this state, or have in his possession fire arms 
 of any kind for such or any of said pur- 
 poses, or fish for, capture, catch or kill any 
 fish, frogs or turtles, in this state. 
 
 (b) For the purpose of this chapter the 
 following are game animals: elk, deer, rab- 
 bit and skunk or polecat. The following 
 are game birds or game fowl: the anatadae, 
 commonly known as ducks, geese, swan and 
 brant; the rallidae commonly known as mud 
 hens, rails, coots and gallinules; the limico- 
 lae, commonly known as shore birds, plover, 
 snipe, woodcock, tatlers, curlews, ortolan, 
 sand piper; and the gallinae, commonly 
 known as wild turkey, ruffed grouse or 
 pheasant, quail or bob-white. 
 
 (c) No person above the age of fifteen 
 years, who is a citizen of the United States, 
 shall, at any time, hunt, pursue, kill or catch 
 any wild game animals, or wild game birds 
 
16 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 or wild game fowl, in this state, or fish for, 
 capture, catch or kill any fish or frogs of 
 any kind whatsoever, without first having 
 secured a license so to do as herein provid- 
 ed, and then only during the respective per- 
 iods when it shall be made lawful to hunt 
 such wild game animals and wild game 
 birds and wild game fowl, or to fish for, 
 capture, catch or kill such fish or frogs. 
 Such license may be procured in the fol- 
 lowing manner: the applicant who is a resi- 
 dent of this state shall go before the clerk 
 of the county court of the county of his res- 
 idence and in ink fill out and sign his name 
 to a blank application which blank applica- 
 tion shall be prepared by said commission 
 and furnished to said clerk by it, and which 
 shall state, among other things to be provid- 
 ed therein by said commission, the citizen- 
 ship, name, age, occupation or profession, 
 weight, height, place of county resident, 
 color of hair, eyes and complexion of the 
 applicant, and said applicant shall in per- 
 son make oath thereto before, and file said 
 application with said clerk. If the appli- 
 cant be a non-resident of this state, he shall 
 make, sign, swear to and file the like form 
 of application, but such application may be 
 signed and sworn to by him before any per- 
 son authorized in the state of his residence 
 to administer oaths, but said officer taking 
 such affidavit shall affix his seal thereto, and 
 
Forest. Game and Fish Laws 17 
 
 such application may be filed with, and such 
 license may be granted by, any clerk of the 
 county court of any county in this state to 
 whom such application is made. If appli- 
 cant is a bona fide resident and citizen of 
 this state, he may fill out said application 
 and swear to the same before some one au- 
 thorized to administer oaths and send the 
 same to the county clerk of the county of his 
 residence together with the amount of li- 
 cense tax herein prescribed and sufficient 
 postage for the return of the license, and 
 such clerk shall thereupon issue and send 
 him such license. Before any such license 
 shall be issued to a citizen who is a resident 
 of the state of West Virginia, said applica- 
 tion shall be made and filed as aforesaid 
 and the applicant shall pay to said clerk 
 so issuing the same the sum of one dollar, 
 and before any such license shall be issued 
 to a citizen who is a non-resident of the 
 state of West Virginia said application shall 
 be made and filed as aforesaid and said ap- 
 plicant shall pay to said clerk the sum of 
 fifteen dollars; provided, that a bona fide 
 land owner of this state, residing herein, 
 or his resident children, or his bona fide 
 resident tenant, may hunt, pursue, kill or 
 catch any of the game animals or game 
 birds and fowl, or fish for, capture or kill 
 any of the fish or frogs of this state on his 
 land, during the hunting or fishing seasons 
 
18 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 therefor, but under the regulations and laws 
 herein expressly made for hunting and fish- 
 ing, without obtaining a license so to do, 
 provided, however, said land shall not have 
 been designated and made, in manner provi- 
 ded by law, a state game refuge or preserve. 
 Nothing herein shall be construed to permit 
 any resident or non-resident member of 
 any club or organization or association of 
 persons owning or leasing a game or fish 
 preserve in this state to hunt or fish with- 
 out having secured such license therefor. 
 
 (d) The clerk shall issue and deliver to 
 the applicant, upon the granting of such li- 
 cense, a form of license prepared by the 
 commission, which shall be signed by said 
 clerk and be under the seal of the county 
 court of which he is a clerk, and which li- 
 cense shall bear a number according to the 
 serial order in which it was issued. The 
 clerk shall, at the same time, deliver to the 
 applicant a tag which stall be prepared and 
 delivered to the clerk by the commission, 
 bearing on it the serial number and county 
 of said license and the name and residence 
 of the applicant, and containing the words 
 "resident' or "non-resident" as the case may 
 be. Said clerk shall keep an accurate list 
 of all licenses issued by them and of moneys 
 received therefor. 
 
 (e) No person to whom such license is 
 granted shall be entitled to hunt, pursue, 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 19 
 
 kill or catch any wild game animals or wild 
 game birds or wild game, fowl, or fish for, 
 capture, or kill any fish or frogs, unless, at 
 the time thereof, he shall have such license 
 in his actual possession, and he shall, on de« 
 mand, exhibit the same to any officer of this 
 state, or to the owner, tenant or lessee of 
 any land on which he is hunting or fishing. 
 
 (f) Such license shall be issued only 
 until the last day of the calendar year in 
 which the same is issued, and shall permit 
 the holder thereof, in the year in which 
 issued and then only during the times in 
 such year when it is made v lawful so to do, 
 to hunt and fish in any of the counties of 
 the state. 
 
 (g) No person securing such license and 
 tag shall transfer the same to any other per- 
 son or permit any other person to have or 
 use the same. No person shall have, use or 
 exhibit any license or tag which has not 
 been issued to him in maner provided by 
 law. 
 
 (h) If any person shall violate any of 
 the provisions of this section, he shall be 
 deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and upon 
 conviction shall be fined not less than 
 twenty and not more than two hundred dol- 
 lars, or may be confined in jail not less than 
 ten nor more than sixty days, for each of- 
 fense, or, at the discretion of the court may 
 
20 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 be both fined and imprisoned within the 
 limitations aforesafd. 
 
 Section 5. Creates Game and Fish 
 Funds. 
 
 (a) All moneys receive by or paid to any 
 officer or other person of this state for li- 
 censes as aforesaid, shall be paid to said 
 commission, in the manner and at the times 
 as hereinafter provided, and said commis- 
 sion shall, on receipt of the same by it, 
 forthwith pay over to the state treasurer 
 such money so received, accompanying such 
 money with a statement showing in detail 
 the source of such money and the purposes 
 for which the same was originally paid. 
 Such officers and other persons so receiving 
 such money shall, on the first day of each 
 month, pay over to said commision all 
 moneys so paid to them during the preced- 
 ing month, and each such officer and per- 
 sons shall accompany such payment with a 
 report showing, in case of license money, 
 the name of the county, the names and ad- 
 dresses of the persons paying the same and 
 the date of the receipt thereof. All such 
 money so paid for licenses shall be credited 
 to and kept separately in a "Game and Fish 
 Fund" and shall be used and paid out sole- 
 ly, upon the order of the commission, for 
 the conservation, protection, propagation 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 21 
 
 and distribution of the fish, frogs, wild game 
 and wild birds and fowls of this state, in 
 the enforcement of the fish and game laws 
 of this state, for any of the purposes in this 
 act provided, and for the operation of the 
 commission. 
 
 (b) All the money so credited to the 
 game and fish fund and applicable as afore- 
 said to the up-keep and conduct of the com- 
 mission, shall be withdrawn from the state 
 treasury and expended only upon the written 
 voucher of the commission, authorized by 
 it at a meeting duly held, and signed by the 
 chairman of such commission. 
 
 Section 6. Revocation of Licenses. 
 
 (a) All licenses herein authorized to be 
 granted shall be deemed to have been grant- 
 ed by the commission, and the power and 
 authority to revoke said license is vested in 
 ihe commission subject to the rights of a 
 court of competent jurisdiction to exercise 
 general jurisdiction in relation thereto. The 
 violation of any of the provisions of this 
 act by any person holding a license shall 
 be sufficient cause for the refusal of the 
 commission to grant in any year a license 
 to the person so violating any such pro- 
 vision. 
 
 (b) In case the commission desire to re- 
 fuse a license to any person, it shall notify 
 
22 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 the clerk of the county court of the resi- 
 dence of such person, or any such clerk 
 where it is expected such license shall be 
 sought, of the name and address of such per- 
 son and such other information in relation 
 1 hereto as it may desire to give, and such 
 clerk shall not issue a license to such per- 
 son thereafter, and shall report to the com- 
 mission any application made therefor. In 
 case any clerk shall, after receiving such 
 notice, knowingly issue such license, he 
 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon 
 conviction thereof shall be fined not less 
 than ten dollars and not more than one 
 hundred dollars for each offense. The com- 
 mission may revoke any such license so 
 wrongfully issued. 
 
 (c) Upon the revocation of any license, 
 the one to whom the same was issued, shall, 
 upon having knowledge of such revocation, 
 forthwith deliver the said license and tag 
 £0 issued to him to the clerk of the county 
 court of the county who issued the same to 
 him and said clerk shall thereupon transmit 
 the same to the commission. 
 
 (d) It shall be unlawful for any person 
 in any manner to alter or change any license 
 or tag, issued under the provisions of this 
 act, or to buy or sell, or offer to buy or sell 
 the same, or to transfer the same to another, 
 or to permit another to use it, and it shall 
 be unlawful for any person to use or wear 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 23 
 
 any such license tag or either of them, 
 which has been issued to any other person 
 than himself. 
 
 (e) A violation of any of the provisions 
 of this section for which no specific pun- 
 ishment is fixed, shall be deemed a misde- 
 meanor, and upon conviction the accused 
 shall be fined not less than twenty or more 
 than one hundred dollars, or confined in 
 jail not less than ten nor more than one 
 hundred days for each offense, or by both 
 fine and imprisonment, within the limita- 
 tions aforesaid. 
 
 Section 7. Offenses Under the Statute. 
 
 (a) No person shall carry any uncased 
 gun in any of the fields or woods of this 
 state, unless he has such properly issued and 
 valid license, or unless such person be the 
 bona-fide owner of such field or woods, or his 
 child, tenant or lessee, and the carrying of 
 such uncased gun in any of the fields or 
 woods of this state by any person not hav- 
 ing a license to do so, as aforesaid, ..or by any 
 person not then such owner, tenant or lessee 
 of such field or woods, or a child of such 
 owner, tenant or lessee, shall be deemed 
 prima facie evidence that the person so car- 
 rying such uncased gun is hunting game 
 animals or game birds or fowl. 
 
24 Forest, Game and Pish Laws 
 
 (b) Any person having in his possession 
 in the fields or woods in or about the 
 streams or waters of this state any gun or 
 other hunting paraphernalia or any fishing 
 rod or paraphernalia, except it be such 
 owner of such field, woods, stream or water, 
 or the child, tenant or lessee of such owner, 
 shall, upon the demand of any officer men- 
 tioned in this act, or by the owner, tenant, 
 lessee, or the agent of the owner of such 
 fields or woods, produce and exhibit his 
 license to such officer or person for inspec- 
 tion,- and shall give to said officer or per- 
 son his correct name and address. 
 
 (c) No person, to whom the such license 
 is issued, shall hunt, pursue, catch or kill 
 game animals, game birds or fowl, or fish 
 for, catch, capture or kill fish or frogs in 
 in this state, unless at the time he shall have 
 such license in his actual possession and 
 upon his person. 
 
 (d) If any person shall violate any of 
 the provisions of this section, he shall be 
 guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon convic- 
 tion thereof shall be fined not less than 
 twenty and not more than one hundred dol- 
 lars, or be confined in jail not less than 
 twenty and not more than one hundred days, 
 lor each offense, or both fine and imprison- 
 ment within the limitations aforesaid. All 
 licenses issued for one thousand nine hun- 
 dred and twenty-one under the law in force 
 
Forest. Game and Fish Laws 25 
 
 before this act takes effect shall be good for 
 hunting or fishing during such year. 
 
 Section 8. Establishing Game Refuges. 
 
 The commission may, with the consent of 
 the owner or owners of any land in this 
 state, set the same, or any part thereof, 
 aside as a game refuge for the propagation 
 or protection of the wild game animals, wild 
 birds or fowl shall be declared by publica- 
 tion of such fact and the period of time the 
 same shall so remain such refuge, together 
 with a reasonably definite statement of the 
 location and boundaries of such land or 
 stream, in at least two newspapers published 
 in the county or each of the counties in 
 which the same is located, or if there be but 
 one then in one such paper, and the com- 
 mission shall post and keep posted thereon 
 or thereabouts placard notices of the fact of 
 such refuge. During the time of the main- 
 tenance of the same as a refuge, no person 
 shall hunt, pursue, kill or catch thereon any 
 wild game or none-game animals or wild 
 birds or fowl, except under the rules and 
 regulations prescribed by the commission for 
 the killing of birds and animals of prey not 
 protected under the law of this state, and 
 upon conviction thereof shall be punished 
 by a fine of not less than ten nor more than 
 one hundred dollars, or by confinement in 
 
26 Forest, Game and Pish Laws 
 
 jail not less than ten nor more than one 
 hundred days, or by both fine and impris- 
 onment within the limitations aforesaid, for 
 each offense. The said commission shall 
 have power to take and hold all lands con- 
 veyed to or vested in it by deed, contract or 
 will, whether donated by individuals, cor- 
 porations or associations, or purchased by 
 the state, and preserve and protect the same 
 for park or game preserve purposes, and 
 shall have power to preserve and protect 
 the fish, wild animals and birds on the 
 same, and to prescribe and enforce rules, 
 consistent with the laws of this state in or- 
 der to carry out that object; and may pre- 
 scribe and enforce rules prohibiting all 
 fishing and hunting and all catching, trap- 
 ping, capturing and killing of fish, wild 
 animals and birds upon such park and game 
 preserve lands, for such a length of time 
 as it may deem proper. 
 
 Said commission shall investigate the 
 waters of the Gauley, Williams, Greenbrier, 
 Elk, Cheat, Tygarts Valley, New Blue Stone, 
 Coal and Guyandotte rivers and report to the 
 governor what lands thereon are suitable for 
 the purposes of a state park and game pre- 
 serve, together with all information obtain- 
 able as to the probable value and the adap- 
 tability of such lands for such purposes. 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 27 
 
 Section 9. Fish and Frog Refuges. 
 
 The commission may with, the consent 
 of the owner of any land or stream in this 
 state, by publication and by posting of 
 notice as aforesaid as provided in section 
 eight of this act, because of drought, forest 
 fires, diseases existing among the fish, or 
 for the purpose of the conservation, pro- 
 tection or propagation of fish and frogs, 
 declare any such stream in this state or 
 any part thereof, a fish or frog refuge and 
 thereafter maintain the same as such. 
 After such declaration no person shall, 
 during the time the same is made a refuge, 
 fish for, capture, catch or kill any fish or 
 frogs in said stream or in any manner pol- 
 lute the waters thereof, and upon convic- 
 tion thereof the accused shall be punished 
 by a fine of not less than ten nor more than 
 one hundred dollars or by confinement in 
 jail not less than ten nor more than one 
 hundred days, or by both fine and impris- 
 onment within the limitations aforesaid, 
 for each offense. 
 
 Section 10. Offering Bounties. 
 
 The commission may, in its discretion, 
 offer and pay, from time to time, under 
 such regulations as it may prescribe, such 
 bounties on the killing and destruction of 
 
28 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 wild non-game animals and wild non-game 
 birds which prey upon and destroy game 
 animals and game, song and insectivorous 
 wild birds and fowl of this state, as said 
 •commission shall deem necessary. 
 
 Section 11. Hunting Elk Prohibited. 
 
 No person shall hunt, chase, capture, 
 wound or kill any elk in this state at any 
 time for a period of ten years from and 
 after the passage of this act; provided, that 
 the owner of any elk which shall be kept in 
 any park or field sufficiently enclosed to 
 reasonably prevent their escape therefrom, 
 shall have the right to kill any such elk 
 of his own; and provided, further, that such 
 owner may pursue, recapture or kill any 
 of his elk that may escape from his en- 
 closure. Any person violating this section 
 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon 
 conviction, shall be fined not less than 
 twenty dollars and not more than two 
 hundred dollars and may be confined in the 
 county jail not to exceed sixty days. 
 
 Section 12. Hunting of Deer, Turkey and 
 other Animals, Birds and Fowl. 
 
 No person shall hunt, capture or kill any 
 deer in this state at any time until the 
 fifteenth day of October, one thousand nine 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 29 
 
 hundred and twenty-three; provided, that 
 the owner of any deer which shall be kept 
 in any park or field sufficiently enclosed 
 to reasonably prevent their escape there- 
 from, shall have the right to kill any such 
 deer of his own; provided, further, that 
 such owner may pursue, recapture or kill 
 any of his deer that may escape from his 
 enclosure. Any person violating this sec- 
 tion shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and 
 upon conviction shall be fined not less than 
 twenty-five dollars nor more than two hun- 
 dred dollars, and may be confined in the 
 county jail not more than sixty days. 
 
 (b) No person or persons shall chase 
 or hunt elk or deer with dogs in this state 
 at any time, or permit his dog or dogs to 
 hunt or chase elk or deer. 
 
 (c) It shall be lawful to hunt and kill 
 any deer from the fifteenth day of October 
 one thousand nine hundred and twenty- 
 three until the thirtieth day of Novem- 
 ber, one thousand nine hundred and twenty- 
 three, and during such period of time in 
 each year thereafter, provided, that tame 
 deer shall be excluded from this operation 
 as aforesaid. 
 
 (d) No person shall kill more than one 
 deer in any one season of each year. No 
 person shall hunt, pursue, catch or kill any 
 deer between nightfall of one day and day- 
 light of the next day. No person shall at 
 
30 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 any time kill any fawn, doe, or any other 
 deer than bucks with horns or antlers over 
 four inches in length, or have the fresh 
 skin of any doe or fawn in his possession. 
 Each person killing a deer in this state in 
 any season when it is lawful so to do, shall, 
 within twenty days thereafter, inform the 
 commission in writing of such fact, and 
 shall also specify in writing the date and 
 place of such killing, the person by whom 
 killed, the persons hunting with him at 
 such time, the estimated age of said deer, 
 the length of its horns or antlers, and what 
 was done with said deer. 
 
 (e) No person shall hunt, pursue, cap- 
 ture, wound or kill any wild turkey between 
 the first day of December of any one year 
 and the fifteenth day of October of the 
 following year, nor shall any person during 
 said period when it shall be lawful to hunt, 
 pursue, catch and kill wild turkeys, en- 
 gage therein between nightfall of one day 
 and daylight of the next day, nor shall any 
 person kill more than one wild turkey in 
 any one day, or more than four wild tur- 
 keys in any one open season. In the 
 month of December of each year, it shall 
 be the duty of each person who has killed 
 a wild turkey in this state to make report 
 of the number killed by him, during the 
 open season of that year, to the commis- 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 31 
 
 sion, designating whether the same were 
 male or female. 
 
 (f) It shall be unlawful for any person 
 to hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill any 
 ruffed grouse between the first day of De- 
 cember of one year and the fifteenth day 
 of October of the following year, or any 
 quail or Virginia partridge between the 
 first day of December of one year and the 
 first day of November of the following year. 
 Nor shall any person kill more than ten 
 quail or four ruffed grouse in any one day, 
 nor more than sixty quail or twenty ruffed 
 grouse in any one year. No person shall 
 hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill any 
 wild duck, goose or brant, between the first 
 day of January and the fifteenth day of Oc- 
 tober of any year; provided, that the wood 
 duck shall not be killed at any time within 
 this state. No person shall hunt, pursue, 
 catch, capture or kill any woodcock in this 
 state between the thirtieth day of November 
 of one year and the fifteenth day of October 
 of the following year; or any plover, orto- 
 lan, or sandpiper between the thirty-first 
 day of December of one year and the six- 
 teenth day of September of the following 
 year; or any snipe between the fifteenth 
 day of December of one year and the fif- 
 teenth day of October of the following year; 
 or any gray, black, fox or red squirrel be- 
 tween the first day of December of any year 
 
32 Forest, Game and Pish Laws 
 
 1 
 
 and the first day of September of the fol- 
 lowing year. No person shall kill more 
 than eight squirrels in any one day nor more 
 than sixty in any one open season. 
 
 (g) Xo person shall hunt, capture, gig, 
 catch or kill frogs between the first day 
 of April and the first day of June of any 
 year. 
 
 (hi) Anyone violating any provision of 
 sub-sections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), or (g) of 
 this section shall be guilty of a misde- 
 meanor and upon conncrfon shall be fined 
 not less than twenty nor more than one 
 hundred dollars, or confined in jail not less 
 than ten nor more than one hundred days, 
 for each offense, or by both fine and im- 
 prisonment within the limitations aforesaid. 
 The unlawful killing or capturing of each 
 game animal, game bird, or game fowl shall 
 be deemed a separate offense. 
 
 Section 13. Killing ^>f Rabbits. 
 
 It shall be unlawful for any person to 
 hunt, catch, wound or kill any rabbit be- 
 tween the first day of January and the 
 first day of October following; provided, 
 that it shall be lawful for any person, or the 
 children or the agent, of any such person, to 
 hunt, catch or kill any rabbit upon his own 
 land or any land of which he may be a 
 tenant at any time. Nb person shall at any 
 
Forest. Game and Fish Laws 33 
 
 time hunt, pursue, catch or kill rabbits 
 with ferrets, excepting that the owner of 
 any land, or his children, or his lessee or 
 agent, may lawfully hunt and kill rabbits 
 with a ferret on said land when it is nec- 
 essary so to do for the protection of the 
 said land or anything thereon. It shall be 
 unlawful for any person to catch, kill or 
 injure by means of a gun, snare, trap, or 
 poison any red fox, between the first day 
 of February and the first day of December 
 following, except in the following named 
 counties: Pocahontas, Monongalia, Marion, 
 Randolph, Ritchie, Fayette, Pendleton, Mon- 
 ty.y roe, Jefferson, Hardy, Wayne, Wood, Gil- 
 I mer, Hancock, Lincoln, Hampshire, Brax- 
 ton, Raleigh, "Webster, Putnam, Preston, 
 Lewis, Jackson, Mercer, Nicholas, Green- 
 brier, Marshall, Berkeley, Tyler, Boone, 
 Logan, Clay, Barbour, Mineral, McDowell, 
 Tucker, Grant, Ohio and Calhoun; pro j 
 vided, however, that it shall be lawful for 
 any person at any time or by any means 
 to catch, kill or pursue any red fox upon 
 his own land, or on any lands upon which 
 he may be an actual bona fide tenant or 
 resident, and also for the agent of the 
 owner or tenant of such land to so hunt 
 and kill any red fox thereon by the direc- 
 tion of such owner or tenant. It shall be 
 unlawful for any person at any time to set 
 or maintain any snare upon the improved 
 
34 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 or. inclosed lands of another without the 
 express permission of the owner or tenant 
 of such lands, or at any time to set or main- 
 tain any steel or spring bear trap upon any 
 lands not his own. If any person violate 
 any of the provisions of this section he 
 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon 
 conviction thereof shall be punished by a 
 fine of not less than ten dollars nor more 
 than one hundred dollars or by confinement 
 in jail of not less than ten days nor more 
 than one hundred days for each offense, or 
 by both fine and imprisonment within the 
 limitations aforesaid. 
 
 Section 14. Killing of Polecats and certain 
 partridges. * 
 
 (a) It shall be unlawful for any person 
 to catch, kill or injure any polecat or 
 skunk between the first day of February of 
 any year and the first day of December 
 of the same year, except that it shall be 
 lawful for the owner of any land, his 
 children, lessee or agent to hunt or kill 
 skunks thereon at any time, and any per- 
 son violating this section shall on conviction 
 be punished by a fine of not less than ten 
 dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, 
 or by confinement in jail for not less than 
 ten days nor more than one hundred days, 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 35 
 
 or by both fine and imprisonment within 
 the limitations aforesaid. 
 
 (b) It shall be unlawful, at any time 
 to hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill any 
 Hungarian pheasant or quail, Reeve's 
 pheasant, English pheasant (not meaning 
 thereby ruffed grouse), Lady Amherst's 
 pheasant, Chinese pheasant, Caporcailzie, 
 or any other foreign game bird introduced 
 into this state by the commission, or any 
 song or insectivorous bird, and a violation 
 thereof shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and 
 upon conviction the accused shall be pun- 
 ished by a fine of not less than ten nor 
 more than one hundred dollars, for each 
 offense, or by confinement in jail of not 
 less than ten nor more than one hundred 
 days, or by both fine and imprisonment 
 within the limitations aforesaid, and the 
 killing of each or any bird so prohibited 
 shall constitute and be a separate offense. 
 
 Section 15. Killing of Fish. 
 
 (a) It shall be unlawful for any person 
 to catch and keep, or not to return to the 
 water immediately after catching, any jack 
 salmon, commonly called jack fish, or any 
 white salmon, less than seven inches in 
 length, or any pike or pickerel of less than 
 ten inches in length, or any bass less than 
 eight inches in length, or any trout less than 
 
36 Forest, Game and Pish Laws 
 
 six inches in length. Fish less than the 
 length prescribed herein shall be feturned to 
 the water immediately after being caught 
 with as little injury as possible. The 
 measurement of the fish shall be taken 
 from the end of the nose to the center 
 fork of the tail. 
 
 (b) It shall be unlawful to fish for, 
 catch, take, kill or destroy any jack sal- 
 mon, jack fish, or white salmon in any man- 
 ner between the first day of April and the 
 thirtieth day of May of each year; or any 
 trout or landlock salmon in any manner be- 
 tween the first day of August and the first 
 day of May following; or any black bass, 
 green bass, willow bass, rock-bass, pickerel 
 or wall-eyed pike between the first day of 
 April and the thirtieth day of May of each 
 year. 
 
 (c) It shall be unlawful for any person 
 to catch or destroy fish in any dam. or pond 
 or stream on the enclosed land of any per- 
 son, except with the written consent of the 
 owner of such dam or pond or stream, un- 
 less such dam or pool or stream be a part 
 of the rivers of this state. 
 
 (d) It shall be unlawful for any person 
 to kill or catch or attempt to kill or catch 
 any fish in this state, or in any water sub- 
 ject to the jurisdiction of this state, at any 
 time, by means of seines, nets or traps, or 
 devices of like nature, unless written con- 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 37 
 
 sent shall have been given by the commis- 
 sion for the use of such seines as hereinafter 
 provided; or by draining water out of any 
 pool, pond, or any stream known to con- 
 tain trout or bass with the intent to take or 
 injure the fish therein; or by the use of 
 dynamite, or any like explosive or 
 other explosive mixture, or any pois- 
 onous drug or substance, or by the use of 
 electricity or lime; or by the use of a gun, 
 rifle, pistol or any other like weapon; or by 
 any other means whatsoever except by rod, 
 line and hook or hooks with natural or ar- 
 tificial lures; provided, (1) that it shall be 
 lawful to kill or catch fish in the Ohio 
 river by means of seines between 
 the first day of September of one 
 year and the first day of March of 
 the year following, if and when per- 
 mission so to do shall have been given in 
 writing by the commission, and in such case 
 upon such terms and conditions as the com- 
 mission may fix, and provided, (2) that any 
 person may employ a seine not more than 
 eight feet in length for the purpose of se- 
 curing minnows other than salmon, bass, 
 shad, pike and trout, for use in angling, and 
 provided (3) that the commission may, at 
 any time, catch fish, with nets, seines or 
 otherwise for the purpose of propagation 
 
38 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 » 
 
 and protection of the fish of this state; pro- 
 vided, that it shall be lawful to gig any 
 species of fish not mentioned in this section. 
 (e)Any person violating any provision of 
 this section shall be guilty of a misde- 
 meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall 
 be fined not less than ten dollars, nor more 
 than one hundred dollars, and may, at the 
 discretion of the court or justice trying the 
 case, be confined in the county jail not ex- 
 ceeding thirty days for each offense, or 
 both fine and imprisonment within the limi- 
 tations aforesaid. Provided, that for killing 
 fish by dynamite or other explosive, or 
 poisons, the punishment shall be as follows: 
 any person convicted thereof shall be con- 
 fined in the county jail for a period of not 
 less than two months, nor more than twelve 
 months, and shall, at the discretion of the 
 court, be fined not less than twenty-five 
 dollars nor more than one hundred dollars; 
 but upon conviction of the same person for 
 the second offense in this state, he shall be 
 guilty of a felony and be confined in the 
 penitentiary not less than one nor more 
 than three years. 
 
 Section 16. Propagation of Game Birds, etc. 
 
 The game commission may hunt, capture 
 and maintain in captivity, at any time, for 
 the purpose of propagation, protection and 
 distribution, any ot the game animals, game 
 birds, game fowl, fish or frogs, or any of 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 39 
 
 the wild animals, wild birds, and wild 
 fowl of this state. 
 
 Section 17. Poison, Baits, Traps, etc., 
 Prohibited. 
 
 It shall be unlawful for any person, at any 
 time, to catch, capture or kill, or attempt 
 to catch, capture, or kill, at any time by 
 seine, net, bait, trap or snare or like device 
 of any kind, any wild turkey, ruffed grouse, 
 pheasant, quail, or catch, capture or kill any 
 elk or deer by means of any poison, bait, 
 trap or snare, or any other like means or 
 device, and any person violating any of the 
 provisions of this section shall be guilty 
 of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction 
 thereof shall be fined not less than ten nor 
 more than one hundred dollars, or by con- 
 finement in jail not less than ten nor more 
 than one hundred days, or by both fine and 
 imprisonment within the limitations afore- 
 said. 
 
 Section 18. Hunting Prohibited on Sundays. 
 
 It shall be unlawful to hunt, catch, kill 
 or injure, or pursue with intent to catch, 
 kill, or injure any game animals, game birds, 
 game fowl, or any other animal or bird or 
 fowl protected under the provisions of this 
 chapter, on the first day of a week com- 
 
40 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 . , 
 
 monly known as Sunday, and any person 
 violating any provision of this section shall 
 be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon con- 
 viction thereof fined not less than ten nor 
 more than one hundred dollars for each of- 
 fense, or by confinement in jail not less 
 than ten nor more than one hundred days, 
 or by both fine and imprisonment within 
 the limitations aforesaid. 
 
 Section 19. Building of Dams. 
 
 No person, firm or corporation shall build, 
 erect, keep or maintain any dam or any 
 other structure in any river, creek or water 
 course in this state, which shall in any way 
 prevent or obstruct the free and easy pas- 
 sage of the fish up or down such river, creek 
 or other water course, without first building, 
 or erecting as a part of such dam or other 
 structure, a good and sufficient ladder or 
 way so constructed as to allow fish easily to 
 ascend or descend the same, as such ladder- 
 or way shall be constructed only upon plans 
 in a manner and at a place satisfactory 
 to the commission. Any person, firm or 
 corporation violating any of the provisions 
 of this section shall be guilty of a misde- 
 meanor and upon conviction shall be fined 
 not less than ten nor more than one hund- 
 red dollars, and such person, or in case 
 of violation by a corporation the officers or 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 41 
 
 agents thereof violating this section may be 
 punished further by imprisonment in jail not 
 less than ten days nor more than one hund- 
 red days, or upon conviction thereof by 
 both fine and imprisonment within the 
 limitations aforesaid. Each day such dam 
 or structure is maintained shall constitute 
 and be a separate offense and punishable as 
 such. 
 
 Section 20. Discharging Deleterious Matter 
 Prohibited. 
 
 It shall be unlawful for any person, firm 
 or corporation to throw, discharge or cause 
 to enter into any stream, water-course or 
 water in this state saw dust, or other mat- 
 ter deleterious to the propagation of fish. 
 It shall be lawful, however, to drain or 
 cause to be drained from any mine in this 
 state by the owner or operator thereof the 
 water that naturally collects in such mine 
 and the water from any coal washery, and to 
 discharge the same into any stream, water- 
 course or water in the state; provided, how- 
 ever, that any mine from which the water is 
 so discharged or drained shall be kept in a 
 sanitary condition and the water drain- 
 age or flowing from such mine, and from 
 such washery, shall, while in the mine and 
 on the premises of the mine owner or op- 
 erator, be kept free from pollution by human 
 
42 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 or animal excrement or substance deleteri- 
 ous to health. And the state board of 
 agents, employees and servants shall at all 
 seasonable times have authority to enter 
 upon the premises and into any such mine 
 in order to see that the same is kept in a 
 sanitary condition and that the waters 
 draining therefrom are free from the ob- 
 jectionable substance named herein; with 
 the right to the state board of health to pre- 
 vent any mine owner or mine operator 
 who fails to comply with the provisions 
 of this act from draining or discharging 
 the water or waters, from his or its mine 
 into any stream, water or water- 
 course in the state provided further, 
 that any mine owner or operator 
 having one suitable, convenient and 
 sufficient outlet for the water from his 
 or its mine into one stream shall not cause 
 the same to be drained into any other 
 stream. Any person, firm or corporation 
 violating any of the provisions of this sec- 
 tion shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
 fined not less than ten nor more than one 
 hundred dollars, and such person violating 
 this section, and the officer or agent of any- 
 corporation, who directs or participates in 
 the violation of this section, may be im- 
 prisoned in jail not less than ten nor more 
 than one hundred days, or both such fine 
 
Forest, Game and Pish Laws 43 
 
 and imprisonment may be imposed for such 
 violation. 
 
 Section 21. Justices have jurisdiction. 
 
 All prosecutions under this chapter shall 
 be in the name of the state of West Vir- 
 ginia and the justices of the peace in their 
 respective jurisdiction shall, in all misde- 
 meanors, have concurrent jurisdiction with 
 the circuit or other criminal courts of any 
 county. 
 
 Section 22. Possession of Game and Wild 
 Birds. 
 
 No person shall, within the state of West 
 Virginia kill or catch, or have in his pos- 
 session, living or dead, any wild bird other 
 than a game bird or a wild bird for which 
 a bounty has been offered by the commis- 
 sion; or purchase, offer or expose for sale, 
 transport within or without the state, any 
 such bird, except as aforesaid. No part 
 of the plumage, skin or body of any bird 
 protected by this section shall be sold or 
 had in possession for sale irrespective of 
 whether said bird was captured within o~- 
 without the state, except the English or 
 European sparrow, owls, hawks, eagles, 
 crows, king fishers and the common black 
 bird, sometimes called the "crow" black 
 bird, which are not included among the birds 
 
44 Forest. Game and Fish Laws 
 
 protected by this chapter, and the killing 
 thereof at any time is lawful. 
 
 Section 23. Destroying Nests 
 
 No person shall wilfully or needlessly 
 destroy or attempt to destroy the nest or 
 the eggs of any wild bird, or have such 
 nest or eggs in his possession, except it 
 be the nest or eggs of a bird for which a 
 bounty has been offered by the commission, 
 or unless such person be acting under a 
 certificate issued by the commission to any 
 person for the purpose of collecting birds, 
 their nests or eggs, for scientific purposes. 
 
 Section 24. Penalties. 
 
 Any person violating any of the provisions 
 of sections twenty-two and twenty-three 
 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon 
 conviction thereof shall be punished by a 
 fine of not less than ten nor more than one 
 hundred dollars or by confinement in jail 
 not less than ten nor more than one hun- 
 dred day3, or both fine and imprisonment 
 within the limitations aforesaid. 
 
 Section 25. 
 
 No person shall, at any time, kill or have 
 in his possession any deer, quail, pheasant, 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 45 
 
 or ruffed grouse, wild turkey, squirrel, or 
 any part of the same, or any game fish or 
 frog killed, caught or captured in this state, 
 with the intention of transporting the same 
 or having the same transported beyond the 
 limits of the state. No person shall trans- 
 port beyond the limits of this state any elk, 
 deer, quail, pheasant, or ruffed grouse, wild 
 turkey, squirrel, wild duck or wild goose or 
 game fish or frog, so killed, caught or cap- 
 tured within this state. 
 
 (b) It shall be unlawful for any person 
 at any time to purchase, or offer to pur- 
 chase, or to sell, or offer to sell, or expose 
 for sale, or have in his possession for the 
 purpose of selling any elk, deer, squirrel, 
 wild turkey, ruffed grouse, quail, wood- 
 cock, wild duck, wild goose, wild swan, wild 
 brant, snipe, sandpiper, or any of the song 
 or insectivorous birds of this state, and it 
 shall be unlawful for any person at any 
 time to purchase, or offer to purchase, 
 or sell or expose for sale any trout of any 
 species, salmon of any species, pike, or 
 any bass of any species, or perch, or any 
 frog, caught or captured within the state, 
 and it shall be unlawful for any person or 
 common carrier to transport, carry or con- 
 vey or to receive for such purpose, any of 
 the animals, birds or fowls aforesaid, or 
 any part of the same or said fish or frogs 
 so caught or killed within the state, know- 
 
46 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 ing or having reason to believe that said 
 animals, birds, fish or frogs had been or 
 were to be sold. The selling or exposing 
 for sale, having in possession for sale, 
 transporting and carrying, contrary to the 
 provision of this section of each and every 
 animal, fish, or bird, the sale of which is 
 prohibited in this section shall constitute 
 and be a separate offense. 
 
 (c) It shall be unlawful for any person, 
 firm or corporation to employ or hire, or 
 to induce or persuade, by the use of money 
 or other thing of value, or by any means to 
 induce, any person to hunt, watch, or kill 
 for such other person, firm or corporation, 
 any game animal, game bird or game fowl, 
 or any other bird or fowl for which no 
 bounty has been offered by the commission, 
 or to fish for, catch or kill any fish or frog 
 which is protected under any of the pro- 
 visions of this chapter, or the sale of 
 which is prohibited by this chapter. It 
 shall be unlawful for any person to charge, 
 accept, receive or take money, wages, hire 
 or reward of any kind, to hunt, pursue, 
 capture or kill, for any other person, any 
 game animal, or game bird or game fowl, 
 or any song or insectivorous bird, or any 
 game fish or frog. 
 
 (d) It shall be unlawful for any person 
 to serve for pay, either directly or indirect- 
 ly, at any hotel, restaurant, or other licens- 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws • 47 
 
 ed eating place in this state, or in any eat- 
 ing place in this state, any game anknal, 
 game bird, or game fowl, or any part there- 
 of whether caught within or without this 
 state or any game fish or frog, caught with- 
 in this state. 
 
 (e) Any person violating any of the pro- 
 visions of this section shall be deemed 
 guilty of a misdemeanor and upon convic- 
 tion shall be fined not less than ten nor 
 more than two hundred dollars, or by con- 
 finement in jail not less than ten nor more 
 than one hundred days, or by both fine 
 and imprisonment within the limitations 
 aforesaid, and in the case of violation by 
 a corporation every officer or agent direct- 
 ing or engaged in the violation shall be 
 guilty, and, in the discretion of the court 
 punishment may be both fine and impris- 
 onment. 
 
 Section 26. 
 
 It shall be unlawful for any person while 
 engaged in the hunting or pursuing game 
 animals, game birds or game fowl careless- 
 ly or negligently to shoot or wound or kill 
 any human being or any live stock or de- 
 stroy or injure any other chattels or prop- 
 erty, and any one violating this section 
 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, 
 and on conviction thereof may be fined 
 
48 ' Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 net exceeding one thousand dollars, and, 
 in rtie discretion of the court trying the 
 case, may in addition thereto be confined 
 in the county jail for a period not exceed- 
 ing one year. 
 
 Section 27. 
 
 It shall be unlawful for any person to 
 shoot or discharge any firearms across or 
 in any public road in this state, at any 
 time, or within four hundred feet of any 
 school house or church, or five hundred 
 feet of any dwelling house, or on or near 
 any park or other place where persons 
 gather for purposes of pleasure, and any 
 person violating this section shall be deem- 
 ed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon con- 
 viction thereof shall be fined not less than 
 ten nor more than one hundred dollars, 
 or at the discretion of the court may be 
 imprisoned not more than one hundred 
 clays for each offense. 
 
 Section 28. 
 
 It shall be unlawful for any person to 
 shoot, hunt, fish or fowl upon the enclosed 
 or improved grounds of another person, or 
 to camp, peel trees, cut trees, or timber, 
 build fires or do any other act or thing 
 
Forest, Game and Pish Laws 49 
 
 thereon in connection with or auxiliary to 
 shooting, hunting, fishing or fowling on the 
 lands of another person without permis- 
 sion in writing from the owner, lessee or 
 other person entitled to the possession of 
 such lands or the tenant or agents of such 
 owner, lessee or person entitled to the pos- 
 session thereof, duly authorized to give 
 such written permission, and every person 
 hunting, fishing, shooting or fowling upon 
 such lands shall have such written permis- 
 sion, with him when so doing. Any per- 
 son violating any of the provisions of this 
 section shall be deemed guilty of a misde- 
 meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall 
 be fined not less than ten dollars nor more 
 than fifty dollars and may in the discretion 
 of justice, be confined in the county jail 
 not more than thirty days; and if any per- 
 son be convicted a third time of such of- 
 fense, he shall be confined in the county 
 jail for a period of not less than three nor 
 more than thirty days in addition to any 
 fine imposed, and in all cases he shall be 
 confined in the county jail until such fine 
 and costs are paid; provided, that such 
 time shall not exceed thirty days. It 
 shall be lawful for the owner, lessee, or 
 the person entitled to the possession of 
 such lands or the agent thereof, to arrest 
 any such person found violating this sec- 
 tion and immediately take him before a 
 
50 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 justice of the peace for trial, and such own- 
 er, lessee, person or agent, is hereby vest- 
 ed with all the powers and ngnts of a game 
 protector for such purpose; and it is here- 
 by made the duty of the game protectors to 
 see that this section is enforced, if re- 
 quested so to do by such owner, lessee, 
 person or agent, but not otherwise. 
 
 Section 29. 
 
 It shall be unlawful to fish for, catch, 
 capture or take, or attempt to catch, cap- 
 ture or take, any fish in or from any spring, 
 brook, stream or run, situate on unen- 
 closed land which is the property of any 
 person, firm or corporation, except with 
 the consent of the owner of such unenclos- 
 ed land; provided, (1), that the owner of 
 such unenclosed land shall have erected 
 and does maintain, at conspicuous and fre- 
 quent places about said spring, or about 
 and along said brook, stream or run, signs 
 or placards at least one foot square on 
 which shall be the words "no fishing or 
 trespassing allowed here," together with 
 the name of the person so owning such 
 unenclosed land, which signs shall be plac- 
 ed in the case of a brook, stream or run, 
 at or near the point where the same en- 
 ters and another at or near the point 
 where the same leave the land of such 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 51 
 
 person and at least another one for each 
 mile of said stream placed about an equal 
 distance from each other. Any person 
 violating this section shall be guilty of a 
 misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be 
 in jail not less than ten and not more than 
 two hundred dollars, or may be confined 
 in jail not less than ten and ot more than 
 one hundred days, or may be both fined 
 and imprisoned within the limitations 
 aforesaid. 
 
 Section 30. 
 
 (a) The commission is vested with au- 
 thority and power to protect the forest 
 against injury or destruction by fire, and 
 for which purposes they may appoint local 
 protectors for each county, with pay at 
 the rate of three dollars and fifty cents 
 per day when actually engaged in fighting 
 fire, and it is made the duty of the com- 
 mission, the chief game protector and the 
 game protectors, upon receiving notice of 
 any such forest fire to employ all the nec- 
 essary means to confine nr extinguish the 
 same. For this purpose authority is giv- 
 en to destroy fences, plough lands or in 
 cases of extreme emergency, to set back 
 fires. The chief game protector and game 
 protectors may, under the general super- 
 vision of the commissioner, in case of 
 
52 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 emergencies, summon or employ persons 
 to assist in fighting fires, who shall be paid 
 at the rate of three dollars a day for the 
 actual time so employed in fighting such 
 fires. Any person who shall fail or refuse 
 to assist in the fighting of such fires shall, 
 unless such failure is due to physical in- 
 ability, be convicted of a misdemeanor, and 
 upon conviction be fined not less than 
 ten nor more than twenty dollars for 
 each offense. 
 
 (b) All services rendered at forest fires 
 except that rendered by a chief game pro- 
 tector or game protectors, shall be charged 
 against the county in which the fire was, 
 and each game protector shall render to 
 the county court, within twenty days after 
 such fire, and also to the commission, a 
 sworn statement of the time used in fighting 
 such fires with the name or names of all 
 persons who were summoned and assist- 
 ed thereat and the amount of money due 
 each therefor. 
 
 (c) Whoever by himself, or by his ser- 
 vants, agents or guide, or as the servant, 
 agent or guide of any other person, shall 
 build any fire, or use an abandoned fire 
 in a field, public or private road, or ad- 
 jacent to, or in any woods or forest in this 
 state, shall, before leaving such fire, totally 
 extinguish the same, and upon failure to do 
 so, such person, or persons, shall be deem- 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 53 
 
 ed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on con- 
 viction thereof, shall be fined not less than 
 twenty-five dollars nor more than one hun- 
 dred dollars and costs of the prosecution, 
 and upon default in paying said fine and 
 costs shall be confined in the county jail 
 not more than ninety days unless said fine 
 and costs be sooner paid. If any person, 
 or persons, negligently set on fire any woods, 
 fields or lands within this state, so as 
 thereby to occasion loss, damage or injury 
 to any other person, he shall be guilty of a 
 misdemeanor and on conviction thereof, 
 shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor 
 more than five hundred dollars, and in 
 the discretion of the justice of court trying 
 the case, be imprisoned in the county jail 
 not to exceed one year, and upon default 
 in payment of the fine and costs, he shall 
 be imprisoned in the county jail not to ex- 
 ceed six months, and if any person or per- 
 sons wilfully set on fire any woods, fields 
 or lands within the state, not his own so 
 as thereby to occasion damage or injury to 
 any other person, he shall be guilty of a 
 felony and on conviction thereof, shall be 
 confined in the penitentiary not less than 
 one nor more than two years. 
 
 (d) Every railroad compay shall on 
 such part of its road as passes through 
 forest lands or lands subject to fires from 
 any cause, cut and remove from its right 
 
54 Foeest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 of way along such lands, at least twice a 
 year, all grass, brush and other inflam- 
 mable materials and employ in seasons of 
 drought and before vegetation has revived 
 in the spring, sufficient trackmen to 
 promptly put out fires on its right of way; 
 provide locomotives thereon with netting 
 of steel or iron so constructed as to give 
 the best practicable protection against the 
 escape of fire and sparks from the smoke 
 stacks thereof, and adequate devices to 
 prevent the escape of fire from ash pans 
 and furnaces which shall be used on such 
 locomotives. 
 
 Nk) railroad company or employee there- 
 of, shall deposit fire coals or ashes on its 
 track or right of way near such lands. In 
 case of fire on its own or neighboring 
 lands, the railroad company shall use all 
 practicable means to put it out. Engineers, 
 conductors or trainmen discovering or 
 knowing of fires in fences or other mater- 
 ial along or near the right of way of the 
 railroad in such lands, shall report the 
 same at the first station to the station 
 agent, and such station agent shall forth- 
 with notify the nearest game protector and 
 use all necessary means to extinguish the 
 same. And any officer or employee of a 
 railroad company violatin/c any provisions 
 of this section shall be guilty of a misde- 
 meanor and upon conviction thereof, shall 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 55 
 
 be fined a sum not less than twenty nor 
 more than two hundred dollars. 
 
 (e) The commission shall in the name 
 of the county in which any forest fire has 
 occurred, and which has been extinguish- 
 ed, or suppressed by its efforts, recover 
 from the person or persons, firm or cor- 
 poration giving origin to such fire, the 
 amount so expended in extinguishing said 
 fire and the costs thereof, and the same 
 shall not bar the rights of damage be- 
 tween the parties thereto. 
 
 The commission may do all things re- 
 quired to meet the conditions and require- 
 ments of the federal government in secur- 
 ing federal co-operation under the provis- 
 ions of the Weeks law, for the purpose of 
 preventing and controlling forest fires, and 
 for the purpose of aid and co-operation with 
 the federal government in this respect, the 
 sum of ten thousand dollars is hereby ap- 
 propriated. 
 
 The commission may co-operate with 
 owners of forest lands and receive finan- 
 cial assistance from them for the purpose 
 aforesaid and do any and all things neces- 
 sary therefor, including the establishment 
 and maintenance of patrol routes and look- 
 out stations; provided; that the commis- 
 sion shall expend therefor only such 
 moneys as shall be appropriated for that 
 purpose by the state and such moneys as 
 
56 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 may be contributed therefor by the private 
 owners and such part of the funds divided 
 from amounts paid for, the game and fish 
 licenses as it shall think best, except that 
 the commission shall not in any one year 
 expend out of such fund derived from the 
 amounts paid for licenses for such fire pre- 
 vention and control purposes more than 
 twenty-five per cent of such year's li- 
 cense fund. 
 
 Section 31. 
 
 The commission, by and with the consent 
 of the governor, shall ha"« e the power and 
 right to purchase, in the name of the state, 
 lands suitable for forest culture or game 
 and fish reserves, out of any unused funds 
 in the hands of the commission under this 
 chapter, but such purchases may be made 
 on not less than one-third of the purchase 
 price to be paid down at the time of the 
 conveyance and the residue in not less 
 than one and two years after date, and 
 when so purchased the commission may 
 maintain the same as a forest, game and 
 fish reserve and make such regulations for 
 the upkeep, protection and operation of 
 the same as said commission may deem 
 necessary, and for the purpose of estab- 
 lishing such forest, game and fish reserves 
 the commission may take any gift of any 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 57 
 
 land. In the case of gifts or purchases 
 the absolute fee simple shall pass to the 
 state except for the reservation of minerals 
 and the mining rights to remove such min- 
 rals. 
 
 Section 32. 
 
 Any person violating any of the pro- 
 visions of this act the punishment for 
 which is not expressly fixfd, shall be deem- 
 ed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be 
 fined not less than ten and not more than 
 one hundred dollars, or confined in jail not 
 less than one hundred days, or may be 
 punished by both fine and imprisonment, 
 at the discretion of the court, but within 
 the limitations aforesaid, and in a case of 
 a corporation all the agents and officers of 
 such corporation directing or engaged in or 
 about such violation may be punished 
 aforesaid. 
 
 Section 33. 
 
 Any person may kill any dog that he 
 may see chasing, worrying, wounding or 
 killing any sheep, lambs, goats or kids out- 
 side of the enclosure of the owner of such 
 dog, unless the same be done by the direc- 
 tion of the owner of such sheep, goats or 
 kids. 
 
58 Forest, Game and Pish Laws 
 
 Section 34. 
 
 If any dog shall have killed or assisted 
 in killing, wounding or worrying any sheep, 
 lambs, goats or kids out of the enclosure 
 of the owner of such dog, the owner or 
 keeper of such dog shall be liable to the 
 owner of such sheep, lambs, goats or kids 
 in the amount of the damages sustained, 
 to be recovered in action before any court 
 or justice having jurisdiction of such ac- 
 tion; and it shall not be necessary to sus- 
 tain such action, to provj that the owner 
 of such dog, knew such dog was accustom- 
 ed to do such worrying, killing or wound- 
 ing; but a recovery under this section shall 
 bar and preclude the owner of such sheep, 
 lambs, goats or kids from obtaining com- 
 pensation from the county court and when 
 compensation is obtained from the county 
 court under any law which is now or may 
 hereafter be in force, then the county 
 wherein the payment is made, is authoriz- 
 ed to sue under this section, and recover as 
 the owner of the sheep, lambs, goats or 
 kids, might have done, aid the amount so 
 recovered shall be paid into the county 
 treasury; but no suit shall be commenced 
 unless authorized by the county court. Any 
 person who shall harbor or secrete or aid in 
 secreting any dog which he knows or has 
 reasons to believe has worried, chased or 
 
Forest, Game and Pish Laws 59 
 
 killed any sheep, lambs, goats or kids, not 
 the property of the owner of such dog, out 
 of his enclosure, or knowingly permits the 
 same to be done on any premises under 
 his control, shall- be guilty of a misde- 
 meanor, and upon convi' tion thereof be- 
 fore any court or justice having jurisdic- 
 tion thereof, in the county in which the 
 offense is committed, be fined not less 
 than ten dollars nor more \han fifty dollars, 
 and at the discretion of the court or jus- 
 tice, imprisoned in the county jail not more 
 than thirty days; and eaoh day that such 
 dog is harbored, kept or secreted, shall con- 
 stitute a separate offense. 
 
 Section 35. 
 
 The owner or keeper of any dog that 
 has been worrying, wounding, chasing or 
 killing any sheep, lambs, goats or kids, 
 not the property of such owner or keeper, 
 out of his enclosure, shall, within forty- 
 eight hours after having received notice 
 thereof in writing from reliable and trust- 
 worthy source, under oath, cause such dog 
 to be killed; if the owner or keeper refuse 
 to kill said dog as hereinbefore provided 
 any justice of the peace upon information, 
 shall summon the owner or keeper of saiu 
 dog, and after receiving satisfactory proof 
 that his dog did the mischief, shall issue 
 a warrant on application being made by 
 
fiO Forest. Game and Fish Laws 
 
 the owner of the sheep, lambs, goats or 
 kids killed, and give it into the hands of the 
 constable, special constable or sheriff, who 
 shall kill the dog forthwith; the cost of 
 said proceedings shall be T>aid by the own- 
 er of the dog so killed, including a fee of 
 fifty cents to the officer killing the said 
 dog; the owner of said dog so killed, shall 
 in addition to the costs, be liable to the 
 owner of the sheep, lamb i, goats, or kids, 
 or to the county court for the value of the 
 sheep, lambs, goats or kids so killed or in- 
 jured. 
 
 Section 36. 
 
 It shall be unlawful for any unnatural- 
 ized foreign born resident of this state 
 to own or keep a dog of any kind in this 
 state. 
 
 Section 37. 
 
 Any person violating any provision of 
 section thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five 
 and thirty-six of this act or failing or neg- 
 lecting to perform any duty imposed by 
 said sections thirty-three thirty-four and 
 thirty-five shall be liable, in an action of 
 prosecution before any court or justice 
 having jurisdiction, for the amount of dam- 
 age sustained, and also for a fine of not 
 to exceed one hundred dollars and the 
 cost of prosecution, or to imprisonment in 
 
Forest, Game and Fish Laws 61 
 
 the county jail for not more than thirty 
 days, or to both fine and imprisonment. 
 
 Section 38. 
 
 The commission shall have the power to 
 suspend and prohibit for certain and defi- 
 nite fixed periods, the catching of fish in 
 any stream or part of strfam in this state, 
 but before such suspension and definition 
 shall become effective, it shall give notice 
 by publication, once a week for two suc- 
 cessive weeks, in the newspapers of the 
 county, or each county, when such stream 
 is located of such suspension and prohibi- 
 tion, and definitely fix by proper descrip- 
 tion in such notice such stream and state 
 therein the period of such suspension and 
 prohibition. 
 
 The commission shall have the power to 
 suspend and prohibit the hunting or killing 
 of any of the game animals or birds men- 
 tioned in this chapter for a definite and fix-, 
 ed period in any county in the state of 
 West Virginia, but not to exceed one year 
 at a time. Before such suspension and pro- 
 hibition shall become effective, the com- 
 mission shall give notice of that fact by 
 publication in all the newspapers of such 
 county at least once in each week for two 
 weeks before the date of the beginning of 
 sueh suspension and prohibition, and such 
 
62 Forest, Game and Fish Laws 
 
 notice shall state the time of such suspen- 
 sion and prohibition and name the birds 
 and animals, the killing of which is therein 
 prohibited. The commission shall also 
 have the power in like manner to change 
 the dates of the hunting ot quail or Virginia 
 partridge in any county; but the open sea- 
 son shall not in any event be for more 
 than thirty days in any year. 
 
 When the commission shall have done 
 any of the things set out in this section and 
 given notices as set out in this section, 
 then anyone fishing in such streams or 
 hunting or killing any of the animals or 
 birds, the killing of which is prohibited at 
 any time by this chapter, shall be guilty 
 of a misdemeanor and upon conviction 
 thereof shall be fined not less than ten 
 nor more than one hundred dollars, and 
 may be confined in the county jail for the 
 period of sixty days or both, in the discre- 
 tion of the court. 
 
 Section 39. 
 
 All acts or parts of acts inconsistent 
 with this act are hereby repealed. 
 
X 
 
 BEWARE OF FIRE! 
 
 Forest fire losses in the United States 
 amount to millions of dollars annually. 
 
 Hundreds of thousands of dollars have 
 been lost in West Virginia as a- result of 
 forest fires. 
 
 Carelessness with matches, with cigar and 
 cigarette stubs and failure to extinguish 
 camp fires are largely responsible for forest 
 fire losses. 
 
 Every hunter has a personal responsibility 
 to prevent forest fires. 
 
 Do not throw lighted matches into dry 
 leaves. 
 
 Avoid throwing lighted cigar and cigar- 
 ette stubs into dry leaves. 
 
 Do not break camp without extinguishing 
 the fire. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 
 002 91 1 270 8 
 
 II Ml