four o'clock in the
morning
Trees had been burned of their leaves . Yet a commission appointed to investigate the condition of the volcano made light of it , saying `` the relative position of the craters and the valleys , leading towards the sea , enables the statement that the safety of St. Pierre is complete . '' Wednesday , May 7 , opened one of the saddest and most terrorizing of the many days that led up to the final eruption . Since four o'clock in the morning , Mont Pelée had been hoarse with its roaring , and vivid lightning flashed through its shattered clouds . Thunder rolled over its head , and lurid glares played across the smoky column which towered aloft . `` Some say , '' says Heilprin , `` that at this time it showed two fiery crater-mouths , which shone out like fire-filled blast furnaces . The volcano seemed prepared for a last effort .