In 1904 Captain Barber arrived in the region to build a boat that would travel from Athabasca Landing to the west end of Lesser Slave Lake, this river being part of the route. The Hudson’s Bay Co. had tried but with no success.
The problem lay in the first 15 or so miles of the Lesser Slave River. This part of the river was shallow with lots of rapids forcing travelers and freight to go overland to Soto (Salteaux) Landing where they could then get back on a boat and finish the trip.
The Midnight Sun was Captain Barber's first boat. It was built at Athabasca Landing where the big steam boiler and other necessities were brought by horse and wagon from Edmonton. By comparing the size of the boat and the size of the river, we are not sure how he expected it to go up the Lesser Slave. The luxury paddle wheel river boat was 120 feet long and 26 feet wide. Even though it would not make the through trip to Grouard, it became one of the most famous boats to run the Athabasca River.
In 1906, The Northern Light was built as a lake boat to run from Soto Landing to Grouard. It was 75’ long and 20’ across. Captain Barber still thought that a steam boat could be made to eliminate the portage around the rapids and started thinking outside the box. If he couldn't make a boat to fit the river, he would make the river fit the boat.
He approached the government and received $15,000 to build wing dams on the first portion of the Lesser Slave River. The idea was to confine the water to one channel. The timber required for the project was cut and skidded along the river bank to where the dams were to be placed. Quantities of stone were piled up to be used as ballast, rip rap etc.
Most dams were round timber crib work 6 to 10 feet across and up to 4 feet in height. Piles were driven along the dams to insure the stability of the work. Twenty six dams were built varying from 50 to 250 feet. The actual cost was closer to $35,000.
The dams were in place and the water was still not deep enough. The next step was to dredge the river. Seven men spent the summer of 1910 removing rock and other obstacles from the Lesser Slave River until they made a continuous channel 3 feet deep.
Captain Barber then built his third boat, The Northland Call, In Sept 1910 this boat made the first complete journey from Athabasca Landing to Grouard allowing Captain Barber the fulfillment of his dream.
The timing however was off as 3 years later the Edmonton Dunvegan & British Columbia railway reached Mirror Landing and installed the divisional point on the opposite shore. This point was called Smith and the heyday of Mirror Landing and riverboats was over. A new era had begun.