what is the myth about red headed league?

A pawnbroker named Jabez Wilson tells the story of his apprentice Vincent Spaulding, a red head, who belongs to a "red headed league". According to Spaulding, the league is a foundation established by an eccentric and wealthy American to support red headed men by paying them to do tasks. The league was headed by a man name Duncan Ross who paid Wilson handsomely for copying an encyclopaedia. When Wilson returned to see Ross, he had disappeared and so had the league.