During the summer of 1711, von Graffenried, along with John Lawson, took a trip up the Neuse River. Von Graffenried wanted to crossbreed European grapes with wild, native grapes and start a vineyard. The Tuscarora took captive von Graffenried, John Lawson, and an enslaved African whom they had entrusted with their baggage. While in captivity, John Lawson and von Graffenried were given three separate trials, each in a different Tuscaroran village. One found the men not guilty; the other two pronounced them guilty of crimes against the Tuscarora. The Tuscarora decided to kill them but, after extended discussion over several weeks, the elders decided von Graffenried would be released. He wore such fine clothes they mistook him for the Governor of Carolina. They thought if they let the "governor" go, the colony would let the incident pass. They informed him they were planning an attack on all the settlements in northern Carolina (when this took place, it was known as the Tuscarora War). The next day, the natives killed Lawson after ritual torture. Von Graffenried was released on condition that no new European settlements should be made without the sanction of the native chiefs. When he finally reached New Bern, he found it abandoned and in flames.