Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief: The Life of White Beaver Powell, Buffalo Bill’s Blood Brother

“White Beaver.”
“Fancy Frank.”
“Medicine Chief of the Winnebago.” These are just a few of the nicknames generated by the contradictory persona of David Franklin Powell (1847–1906). Born in Kentucky, Powell’s restless spirit led him to Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. He was the close friend and business partner of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and, along with him, was a dime-novel hero and author. Both men enjoyed near-mythical status during their lifetimes. Powell graduated from Louisville Medical College, served as an army medical officer, and kept traditional medical offices. Risking charges of quackery, he also claimed his Seneca Indian heritage, drew on his lifelong knowledge of herbal remedies, created patent medicines, and was the Winnebago Indians’ medicine chief. In the political sphere, Powell became the mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, galvanizing the immigrant labor force as the figurehead of the local populist movement. After weathering brutal political storms, he focused on the prospects of the Copper Giant mines in Wyoming. Powell knew great successes and great failures. He caused others both to revere and despise him. Blending ambition and benevolence, he mastered traditional channels of power, yet remained true to himself. As his friend Buffalo Bill put it, “If ‘White Beaver’ is a devil, then Heaven is full of them.”