This quote comes from Charles Chestnutt’s “Dave’s Neckliss” in the middle of Uncle Julius’s story about the slaves Dave, Wiley and Dilsey. Chestnutt’s story helps introduce complexities into the stereotype of black tricksters, illustrates reasons for the distrust of African Americans by whites in the late 19th century, and highlights the attitudes of distrust in African American culture before the civil rights movement. The complex black trickster stereotype introduced by Chestnutt has remained a prominent identity in Southern culture throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Wiley’s admission about seeing Dave take the ham is false; Wiley would later admit he took the ham and framed Dave in order to steal Dave’s girl Dilsey. This indirect method