If it was Zelph who wrote and hid the plates, we may safely conclude that he was a 19th century American farmer with rudimentary metallurgical skills and a finely honed sense of humor.
Well, of course, it was the Prophet Zelph himself who wrote & buried the leather plates which we have as a second witness to the Book of Mormon.
His testament answers such thorny questions as: Did Native Americans use deer and tapirs to pull chariots? See Chapter 1 of The Son of Abitch Code, starting on page 125.
And also: Why do we have no archaeological evidence of Nephite civilization in America? See Melph 3:28-29, page 211. "...even shall future generations know not of the Nephites."
Read this expansive further witness, if only for the chuckles.