Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Heeler \Heel"er\, n.
   1. A cock that strikes well with his heels or spurs.

   2. A dependent and subservient hanger-on of a political
      patron. [Political Cant, U. S.]

            The army of hungry heelers who do their bidding.
                                                  --The Century.