To excel or surpass all competitors, to be the principal in a body or society; an allusion to the fore horse or leader of a team, whose harness is commonly ornamented with a bell or bells. Some suppose it a term borrowed from an ancient tournament, where the victorious knights bore away the belle or fair lady. Others derive it from a horse-race, or other rural contentions, where bells were frequently given as prizes.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
bell * bellowsNathan Bailey's 1721 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes