At six o’clock, before it got dark, Major-General Coke on the summit wrote an account of the situation (received by Sir Charles Warren at half-past seven), and having personally handed over command on the summit to Colonel Hill, and assured himself that he understood his duties and responsibilities, went back to the reserves half-way down the hill which he chose for the command post. There he remained until half-past nine in the evening, when, in obedience to an order from Sir Charles Warren, he went down to see him, leaving his deputy-assistant adjutant-general at the post to carry on the routine duties of the command in his name during his absence. Some hours before he started down the hill, water and provisions were arriving regularly at the signal station and being passed to the top. Down below Sir Charles Warren had been busy with arrangements for sending up at night all that was necessary to enable the position to be held next day. The mountain battery and naval 12-pr. guns, however, only arrived at Trichard’s Drift between five and six o’clock in the afternoon. Colonel Wood, R.E., who was on the top during the day, was fully informed of all that was to be done at sundown, although, of course, it was not possible to know precisely when the guns would reach the top until they actually came in from Trichard’s Drift. The mountain battery arrived at the foot of Spion Kop about half-past seven in the evening, completely tired out with their long march, and it was arranged that they should rest there until midnight, when the moon rose, and there would be plenty of time for them to ascend and get their guns into position on the top before daybreak. Notice of this was sent to Lieut.-Colonel Thorneycroft by the hand of a scout. Major-General Coke could hardly have left the summit at 6.30 P.M. when Lieut.-Colonel Thorneycroft, as night was closing in, made up his mind that the hill was untenable. He sent the following message to Sir Charles Warren, which was not received that night: