Officer Blair received a report of a run away elephant within his jurisdiction. Leaving in response to the emergency, he is followed. The crowd following him swells to the thousands, all intent on witnessing the killing of the elephant and profiting from the carcass. As they grew nearer to the beast, the crowd grew more agitated. They were expecting him to shoot the elephant. Oddly, the nearer Blair/ Orwell came to the elephant the less he wanted to shoot the beast. The elephant had not intentionally caused harm; he was just being an elephant.

The villagers had, by now whipped themselves into some kind of vigilante frenzy, hell-bent for the elephant's execution. Orwell felt as though he had no choice but to kill the giant. If not, all respect for the territorial police and authority would be lost. The sahib, as he expresses it...