author
David Franklin Powell
1847–1906
Best known as "White Beaver," this restless 19th-century adventurer moved through the worlds of medicine, show business, politics, and popular fiction. His life was colorful enough to feel like a dime novel even before he started writing them.
1 Audiobook
The Wolf-Men: A Tale of Amazing Adventure in the Under-World
by David Franklin Powell
About the author
Born on May 25, 1847, David Franklin Powell was an American pharmacist, physician, field surgeon, patent-medicine maker, and writer. He was also known as D. Frank Powell and "White Beaver," a nickname tied to the frontier image he cultivated throughout his career.
Powell became closely associated with Buffalo Bill Cody and the larger world of Wild West entertainment. Alongside his medical and business work, he wrote and appeared as a character in dime novels, helping shape the fast-moving adventure stories that were popular with readers of his time.
His public life extended beyond writing. Powell served as mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and was twice a candidate for governor of Wisconsin. He died on May 7, 1906, leaving behind a biography that blends politics, performance, and pulp storytelling.