What were the conditions in which the slave worked in "The Slave's Dream" by Longfellow?

You didn't mention which work by Longfellow you are
refering to, so I assume you mean "The Slave's Dream," which is a famous poem by this
poet. We can glean some ideas of the working conditions faced by the slave through an
examination of the first and last stanzas, which place the slave in his unfortunate
present context before the return to his homeland that his final, dying dream allows him
to accomplish in the middle of the poem.

We can see from
the first stanza, therefore, that the slave worked in a rice plantation harvesting rice.
It was clear that he was not treated well as a slave. Note how he is described in terms
of his appearance:

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His breast was bear, his matted
hair

Was buried in the
sand.

The way in which he is
presented establishes that he is not treated well. He has no shirt or top to wear and
his hair is allowed to become "matted" and unkempt. In addition, the way the first line
stresses the "ungathered rice" emphasises the sheer volume of work that he was expected
to accomplish.

The final stanza continues to present the
harsh conditions faced by this slave by making reference to the "driver's whip" and the
"burning heat of day." This slave was obviously expected to work hard during the hottest
parts of the day, and any tiredness would be punished by the whip of the slave driver
responsible for him. Such conditions make us appreciate that the death of the slave at
the end, far from being a tragedy, is actually a welcome release form someone who was so
cruelly snatched from his own land and culture and made to work like a
beast.