Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) a mild excl. often ext., e.g. snakes and alligators!

1839		Spirit of the Times (N.Y.) 17 Aug. 283/3: Snakes! such a row! [DA].
1847		Bristol Mercury 3 Apr. 6/3: [from US press] Snakes alive! then you want to put down the old gentleman, I suppose, don’t you?
1851		Yorks Gaz. 25 Jan. 3/2: An adour [...] assailed her nose and caused her to exclaim ‘Snakes alive, Bridget! What’s the matter now?’.
1861		Elgin Courier (Scot.) 31 May 7/5: ‘Snakes!’ you will bellow, ‘how could we have been such ’tarnal fools?’.
1865		Hunt’s Yachting Mag. Sept. 429: Snakes alive! they've got a 200 lb. shell to Charleston.
1865		‘Artemus Ward’ His Book 121: [note] Snakes alive—a common New England exclamation of astonishment.
1870		Bond of Honour III 122: Snakes alive! Arthur, you should have seen how long her face became in one moment.
1876		Alnwick Mercury 9 Sept. 3/6: Snakes alive, it were just as nateral as slidin’ down a hill!
1879		‘’Arry on the Rail’ in Punch 13 Sept. 109/2: Oh, snakes! we’d the highest old game.
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 236: So the muchacha went back on yer — snakes alive!
1891		Boys Of The Empire 24 Aug. 356: Snakes and Centipedes!
1899		Eng. Illus. Mag. 20 492/2: Snakes alive! there were diamonds enough blinking at me to last ten men till kingdom come.
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 22 Dec. 14/1: ‘I’m from the country, boys,’ he said, ‘and snakes, but ain’t I dry! / We’re reg’lar whales at sinking beer – us coves from Mungindi.’.
1901		D. Cotsford Society Snapshots 58: Snakes, my dear, don’t go to that Promenade Hospital.
1903		E. Phillpotts Golden Fetich 169: ‘Snakes alive!’ roared Dan at the spluttering and swearing Mapora, ‘I’ve catched a King!’.
1905		J. London ‘All Gold Canyon’ Complete Short Stories (1993) II 1019: Smoke of life an’ snakes of purgatory! Will you just look at that!
1908		Vanguard Library 31 Mar. 4: Snakes! [Ibid.] 12: Snakes and alligators, what does he want with me?
1916		G. Squiers More Skitologues 14: For there are no flies on Hyman, / Snakes alive, my stars! you bet!
1917		Boy’s Own Paper XL:2 57: Snakes!
1922		E. Raymond Tell England (1965) 125: But snakes alive! we’ll get in the semi-final.
1935		Nottingham Eve. Post 9 May 6/5: Snakes Alive! If you want to be really chic $and all that, you must go in for snake furniture.
1949		Dundee Courier 2 June 6/3: Snakes alive, we must have gone into a dive!
1961		O.E. Rayburn Ozark Country 261: Snakes alive, feller, you all can’t mean that.
1975		E. Roberts Jumping Jackdaws 60: ‘Snakes alive!’ said Grandmother, when she saw it. ‘You've certainly got a bargain’.