What is "zelph"

Zelph is a figure of interest in Mormon studies. In May and June 1834 Joseph Smith led an expedition known as Zion's Camp (a paramilitary Latter Day Saint group) on a march from Kirtland, Ohio to Jackson County, Missouri. On June 3, while passing through west-central Illinois near Griggsville, some bones were unearthed from a mound. These bones were identified by Smith as belonging to a Lamanite chieftain-warrior named Zelph. The mound in question is now known as Naples-Russell Mound 8.